Are You an Addict?

If you were a human throughout most of history, you would have had to work very hard to find, grow or kill your own food. And, getting enough calories and nutrients from one day to the next could literally have been the dividing line between life and death. We grew to desire and seek out the most nutrient and calorie dense foods that nature provides, in order to ensure our own, and our species', survival. At the same time, we needed to have a reliable way of discerning which foods might contain poisonous substances, so that we could avoid them.

According to Dr. Rober Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, "there is no food stuff on the planet that has fructose (sugar) that is poisonous to you. It is all good. So when you taste something that's sweet, it's an evolutionary Darwinian signal that this is a safe food."

So, we are pre-programmed to like sweets. Why is that a problem? Read on.

Dr. Lustig, whose video lecture, Sugar: The Bitter Truth, has received well over 5 million YouTube views, makes a compelling case for the reasons behind our modern epidemic of obesity and its related diseases. 

In a nutshell, it's this: too much sugar coupled with too little fiber. 

So, while humans have always craved sweets, it wasn't until the onset of modern food production that this craving became a health threat. Dr. Lustig's theory is that we used to get our fructose mostly in small amounts of fruit -- which came loaded with fiber that slows absorption and consumption. But, as sugar and high fructose corn syrup became cheaper to refine and produce, we started gorging on them. And, as our foods became increasingly more loaded with sugar, at the same time, they dropped dramatically in fiber content. So, while the diets of our ancient ancestors contained 100-300 grams of daily fiber, today, we average only 12 grams. You read that right.

How did this happen?

Food that retains a high fiber content has a short shelf life and takes longer to prepare. That is not a convenient state of affairs for our fast-paced, fast-food world. In nature, fructose always comes in a high fiber package. Not so in our supermarkets, convenience stores, fast-food outlets and restaurants. Pick up almost any packaged product and read the label. Most likely, you will see some form of sugar and little to no fiber.

Why is this? Why do we almost never hear about fiber outside of commercials for fiber powders we can mix with water and ingest to help keep us "regular"? Well, fiber isn't a big money maker, that's why. What fiber IS, though, is an essential nutrient.

Fiber:

• Reduces the rate of intestinal carbohydrate absorption
• Makes you feel full
• Suppresses insulin

And yet, it is almost non-existent in the modern diet.

What we DO get plenty of is fructose - to the tune of about 130 lbs for each American every year. Even if you are diligent about avoiding sweets, chances are that you're still eating quite a bit of sugar, hidden in all kinds of foods and drinks - bread, ketchup, jerky, sports drinks, salad dressings, protein bars, canned soup - the list is much longer than you might think.

This fructose overload has led to many of our modern disease epidemics - high blood pressure, type II diabetes, heart disease, obesity, liver disease, and cancer. 

But the biggest surprise here is Alzheimer's disease.

According to recent studies by Brown University neuropathologist Suzanne de la Monte, MD, Alzheimer's may very well be a metabolic disease, in which the brain's ability to use glucose and produce energy is damaged. In other words, it's like having diabetes in the brain.

How does sugar consumption contribute to the growth of cancer?

Lewis Cantley, a Harvard professor and head of the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center, says that when we eat or drink sugar, it causes a sudden spike in the hormone insulin. Nearly a third of some common cancers, including breast and colon cancers, have insulin receptors on their surface. Insulin binds to these receptors and signals the tumor to start consuming glucose. Every cell in our bodies needs glucose to survive, including a cancer cell.

So if you happen to have the tumor that has insulin receptors on it then it will get stimulated to take up the glucose that's in the bloodstream. Rather than go into fat or muscle, the glucose goes into the tumor. And the tumor uses it to grow. - Lewis Cantley

Ok, so if fructose is so bad for us, why don't we just stop eating it?

It turns out that sugar triggers the release of the same "feel good" chemicals, called opioids and dopamine, as other addictive drugs, like cocaine and alcohol. And, much like other drug addicts, sugar addicts build up a tolerance to the stuff and they need more and more of it to get the same effect. 

So, the more sugar you eat, the less you feel the reward. 

In a very real and tragic way, most of us are definitely addicts to the stuff.

And, while we can choose to do the hard work of cutting out fructose and going through withdrawals, there's a whole population of humans that doesn't have this choice.

I'm talking about the epidemic of obese newborns and infants.

When a pregnant woman eats sugar, this sugar goes into the placenta and feeds the baby. This developmental programming makes the baby a sugar addict before he or she is even born. And, it doesn't get much better after that. Have you ever read the labels of infant formulas? Many have as much sugar and high fructose corn syrup as sugary soft drinks. Think about that.

OK, so what can we do? 

Educate yourself and your family. Eat as close to nature as you can. Check labels for hidden sugars. 

And remember that it's much easier, cheaper and less painful to prevent disease than it is to treat disease.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Freeze Them!

World's Best Raw Burritos

Do you ever walk around the produce section of your local grocery store or farmer's market and think to yourself that all the green leafy stuff just kind of looks the same, even though they have different names? I had a little chat with a woman the other day who saw me picking and bagging up a few different leafy greens. She asked me what I did with it all and wouldn't a pre-made salad mix be just as good? Umm. No. 

While the green leafy veggies may look similar and be grouped together when talking about healthy eating ("Eat lots of green, leafy vegetables!"), the truth is that each of them provides its own unique phytonutrients that help our bodies to function at optimal levels. So, while spinach and kale, for example, are two nutritional powerhouses of the greens family, they can't cover all the bases just on their own. That's why it's a great idea to mix up your use of greens and eat a wide variety of them.

Let's talk about swiss chard. 

As of this writing, research has revealed that chard leaves have at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants. One of these, syringic acid, is able to regulate blood sugar by limiting the amount of carbohydrates that get broken down into simple sugars. Betalains are also among the phytonutrients in chard, providing antioxidant, ant-inflammatory and detoxification support. 

So, do you need swiss chard as a regular part of your diet?

Yes, without question.

Here's a recipe that has been very popular with my family and friends, and I love it because it's easy to make, versatile, surprisingly filling and absolutely delicious. For the filling, I use whatever veggies I have in the house or in my garden. Today, I filled the raw burrito with carrots, purple cabbage, sunflower seed sprouts, cucumbers and raw pine nuts. Use your imagination - you can even set up a "raw burrito bar" with different chopped fillings that your family or guests can use to make their own burritos to their liking.

World's Best Raw Burrito

"B" Healthy!

Judging by how much food we Americans consume (and how much we throw out!), you'd think that we are far removed from the danger of malnutrition. But, you'd be wrong.

The truth is that, while we may have more food available to us than could have even been imagined just a few generations ago, we are not getting the nutrients our bodies need to thrive. This is partly because much of what we eat are empty calories that come from "foods" created in laboratories and sold to us in bright, colorful packages, and, also because even our healthful food choices are now grown in depleted soils that produce crops with fewer vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients.

So, we need to educate ourselves a little and seek out the best foods and supplements that we can find. Today, I want to give you a quick tutorial on the B-vitamin complex, why they are so important and how we can include them in our diets.

I do believe that a vegan diet is the most healthful way to eat, but, of course, we all have the right to follow the choices that we feel are best for us, so I have included both plant and animal food sources for these vitamins.

An excellent plant source for the B-complex vitamins is our very own E3Live. 

What are the B-complex vitamins?

40 Pieces of Advice Challenge - Day 10

If you're reading this blog, chances are good that you're interested in living a healthy lifestyle. Chances are also good that you, like most people these days, understand that fresh, natural food is more beneficial than food-like substances created in factories with dyes, preservatives, fillers and chemicals not found in any food that comes from nature. There are countless scientific studies showing the effects of nutrition on health and longevity, as well as personal experiences of people who have transformed their bodies and lives through proper nutrition and exercise. It seems that every month, the covers of magazines are filled with the same enticing phrases - "lose weight, feel great", "exercise and look ten years younger", and so on, ad infinitum.

So, we know all this, but still many people get caught up in the convenience-food trap. With busy work schedules, weekends filled with catching up on chores and errands, and all the other things that seem to take hold of people's lives these days, it's easy to pick up "dinner" from a fast food joint, or pop a pre-made frozen meal in the microwave. But, the consequences of regularly filling our bodies with foods that provide very little in the way of nutrition and real energy are all around us: obesity, heart disease, cancer and exhaustion, just to name a few, have become mainstays of modern life.

As usual, the "easy" way out is anything but easy.

But there's good news, and I'm here to say that it is definitely possible to live in this busy world and still eat close to nature. Start by adding a green salad to one meal each day. You can buy bags of pre-washed and pre-cut organic greens at just about any store these days. Open up a bag, toss in a handful of raw sunflower seeds and organic grape tomatoes, squeeze some lemon juice and a bit of extra virgin olive oil, cut up half an avocado, add a dash of salt and pepper and you've got a nutritious and refreshing prelude to your lunch or dinner. You can even have a salad for your afternoon snack, instead of a sugary, fatty dessert.

It really is that simple.

In the morning, instead of pumping your system with coffee and a donut to get yourself going, how about a shot of freshly made green juice? Toss a cucumber, some kale and an orange into a juicer and, voila! you have a glassful of energy that won't have you crashing by mid-morning. Don't have time to make juice? No problem, a quarter cup of E3Live will give you over 65 vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential acids, courtesy of Mother Nature.

Are you still craving that chocolate bar? 

Don't beat yourself up over it. Just have a nice juicy orange first, or an apple, a ripe mango, a slice of the tropical goodness of pineapple, some sweet strawberries bursting with flavor. Then wait about 30 minutes. You will probably have forgotten all about that chocolate by then. But, if you still feel like you just have to have it, go ahead, cut off a small piece and eat just that much. 

And be sure that you taste every bite of it - no mindless eating in front of the TV or computer.

By adding in desirable foods, you'll have less room for the manufactured stuff. And, believe it or not, the less you eat of the processed junk, the less you'll crave it. It's just as easy to get "hooked" on good food - it's simply a matter of letting your body and palate experience the flavors and energizing effects of the varieties of food that nature offers.

This is a process of replacing the bad with the good, and it doesn't happen overnight, as much as we might want it to.

Yes, there is a bit of planning involved. For example, when you are doing your grocery shopping, don't fill your cart with packaged foods that will tempt you when they're sitting in your cupboards at home. Buy fresh foods that need to be refrigerated. If you're meeting friends for lunch, opt out of the greasy diners and go to a salad bar.

The important thing to remember is this - you make a choice every time you put something in your mouth. And every time you make that choice, you have the opportunity to do what you know is right. If you fall, pick yourself right up and make a better choice the next time. It really is no more complicated than that.

What choices will you make today?

The Chicken Pox Blues

We have a new visitor at our house! 

Chicken pox. 

One at a time, each of my children has been singing the ol' Chicken Pox Blues.

On the bright side,  I'm turning into quite the chicken pox expert. Maybe I'll even achieve master level by the time the last spot has faded from the last kid.

The night before Nicholas broke out in the pox, we had just finished reading a short novel called "The Trouble with Chickens!" What are the odds, right? So, when he came to me the next morning, complaining bitterly about the itchy red bumps, I looked at him, smiled and said, "That's the trouble with chickens!" My poor baby. But, at least my little joke made him laugh and roll his eyes at me. And that, in turn, made me laugh! So, we managed to make the best out of a bad situation.  Plus, I now have a new affectionate nickname for my biggest boy. I call him "polka dot".

Right before I sat down to write this, I had just made and placed in front of him his third green drink of the day. Luckily, I had my phone in hand and was able to catch his reply in this picture. In case you can't tell, he's saying "Noooooooooooooooooo, not another green drink! How many of these do I have to have?"

Teach Your Children Well

We almost never watch TV at our house. We just have too much living to do, and, really, most of what's on TV isn't worth watching, anyway. But, every once in a while, I do turn on certain shows that I find interesting. One of these shows is The Biggest Loser. I love seeing the contestants confront their demons, push through their perceived limits and transform their lives.

This season, there's a woman on the show named Tanya who really got my attention. Her lifestyle had deteriorated so much that she gained over a hundred pounds with her last pregnancy, and her baby was born grossly overweight at 11 pounds 6 ounces. Now 2 years old, Tanya's daughter is at risk for many diseases and will be climbing an uphill battle all her life. I cried right along with Tanya when she broke down and said, "I did this to her."

And it made me think of the millions of American children who are eating fake, processed foods, and leading unhealthy, sedentary lives. When I was a child, I played outside with my friends, walked or rode my bike around town and rarely sat around the house. Contrast that with today's electronic culture of video games, TV, computers, smart phones, streets empty like ghost towns. These days, when I see kids playing outside, I'm actually surprised by it. I can't tell you how sad this makes me.

Add to this the explosion of "convenience foods", and we've got the perfect mix for a whole generation of people at risk for all kinds of diseases, from diabetes to heart disease to stroke to cancer.  It is estimated that one third of all American children and adolescents are overweight or obese. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around this number. These children will, in all likelihood, grow up to be overweight adults, and I think of all the missed opportunities, the heartbreak, the economic toll on society that will follow.

And, when I think of these children, Tanya's words echo in my mind. Children do not get fat in a vacuum. There is a whole society that sets up the conditions for this to happen. But, the situation is not hopeless. To paraphrase Gandhi, we must all strive to make the changes in ourselves that we wish to see in the world.

Do we model appropriate behavior to our children? Do we make time to teach them how to make healthful meals from real, fresh ingredients or do we microwave frankenfoods to give to them during the car ride to the shopping center, where we will circle the parking lot to find the spot nearest to the entrance of the store? Do we collapse in front of the TV after dinner or do we take a walk around the neighborhood and take the time to talk to one another about the events of the day? When our children have something to say, do we give them our undivided attention, or are we staring at our smartphones?

Small changes add up to big consequences. Be mindful. Make good choices. And, remember, children are always watching and learning. What are we teaching them?

A Nut Above

'Tis the season again! Time to wrap ourselves in cozy sweaters, run through noisy leaves lining the sidewalks and enjoy cold weather foods. And, whether  or not you roast them, chestnuts should be one of those foods. I love to eat them raw because they're crunchy and just a little "juicy".  Every fall, when they show up at my local stores and farmers markets, I make sure to buy them every time I'm out. My family and I love these little gems. If I didn't know just how exceptionally healthful they are, I'd feel a bit guilty about indulging in their deliciousness. 

But, because Google is my friend, I know a thing or two, about a thing or two. For example:

• Compared to other nuts and seeds, chestnuts are relatively low in calories and fat, so you don't have to be quite as careful about limiting portion size. 
• Chestnuts are a good source of dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins and phyto-nutrients.
• Surprisingly, chestnuts are exceptionally rich in Vitamin C, folates (which are usually found in leafy green vegetables), iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and potassium.
• If you're needing mono-unsaturated fats like oleic and palmitoleic acids in your life (and, really, who isn't) then you should be eating chestnuts!
• Want a good source of the B-complex vitamins? Chestnuts.
• Manganese! Chestnuts have got it. In fact, a 3 ounce serving of chestnuts will give you 50 percent of your recommended daily intake. Why is manganese important? Well, it's an antioxidant that reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease, while also helping with connective tissue health and blood clotting. Studies are beginning to indicate that manganese plays a key role in slowing down the aging process.
• Chestnuts are naturally gluten-free.
• The trace mineral copper is necessary for bone strength, red blood cell formation, nerve function and a strong immune system, and a 3 ounce serving of chestnuts gives you 22 percent of the recommended daily value.

So, how's that for an unassuming-looking little brown nut? Pretty impressive, if you ask me. Go get some chestnuts, crack them open and enjoy crunching on them, knowing that you are definitely doing your body good!

Where Have You Bean All My Life?

If you're like me, when you think of greens, beans aren't the first things that pop into your mind. But I'm about to change that!

While all other beans are allowed to mature before being dried, green beans, also called string beans, are picked while still young and tender, when the inner beans have just begun to form. That's what makes them edible raw or slightly cooked, pods and all.  Green beans have recently been shown to have very strong anti-oxidant capacity. We can see the presence of highly concentrated chlorophyll in the beautiful, bright green color of string beans, but what we can't see is the other good stuff  - lutein, beta-carotene, vilaxanthin and neoxanthin. These are nutrients we normally associate with red and orange produce like carrots and tomatoes. Like I always say, don't judge a book by its cover.

Sadly, we are used to seeing this gorgeously green plant overcooked to a dull khaki color, with a limp and unappetizing mouth feel. If used at all, green beans are a way to fill space on a plate, and rarely take the spotlight as the stars that they really are! Here's a recipe that I make at least once a week, by popular request. It can be eaten warm, but I think it's best served chilled. I make a big batch and put it in the refrigerator for a quick snack or a scrumptious side dish. It sure beats the heck out of potato chips, both for flavor and nutrition. 

Out of This World Green Beans
(with raw option)

1/2 lb fresh green beans, washed
3 cloves fresh garlic
3 Tablespoons raw sesame seeds
chili paste to taste
3 Tablespoons sesame oil
Sea salt to taste

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the green beans and blanche until bright green. This should take no more than 3-5 minutes. We want to bring out the color and the crunch in the beans, so be careful not to overcook. Drain and set aside.

If you choose to make a raw recipe, skip the above step and, instead, carefully wash the green beans. Set aside.

Grind the sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle. You can find these anywhere, ranging in price from under $10 to over $100. No need to get fancy, just get one that you like and that fits your budget. You don't need to crush all the seeds, just a lot of them. So it will resemble a coarse powder with some seeds still intact. Empty this into a big bowl. Add garlic to the mortar and top with some sea salt. The salt helps break down the consistency of the garlic, as well as adding flavor to the dish. Grind the garlic with the pestle until it becomes a paste. Add the garlic to the sesame in the bowl. Top it off with your choice of chili paste and the sesame oil and mix well. Transfer the drained green beans to the bowl and carefully work it around with a large wooden spoon to coat the beans with the sesame mixture.

And you're done! The next time you're craving a savory snack, this delicious and nutritious snack will be as close as your refrigerator.

For more variety, try this recipe with asparagus or broccoli!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Starfruit

I have a friend who is a master gardener. Her lush organic garden is not only a feast for the eyes, but also provides the most delicious fruits and vegetables I have ever tasted. We love to walk through her garden and enjoy fresh snacks that we pick ourselves straight from the earth. 

Recently, she gifted us with a bag of the tastiest little star fruits. My kids were so excited to experience this "funny looking" food and they each chose the one they would eat. Though you can certainly bite right into star fruits as you would apples or pears, I knew that cutting them into slices would be a lot more fun.

Free Webinar with Dr. Brian Clement of the Hippocrates Health Institute!

Do you have questions about health and nutrition? Are you confused about conflicting information coming at you from news reports, forwarded e-mails, Facebook posts and a million other sources? Then you're in luck!

Tomorrow, July 30, at 7:30 pm Eastern Time, Dr. Brian Clement of the Hippocrates Health Institute is holding a free webinar open to anyone interested in learning more about health. If you're unfamiliar with Dr. Brian Clement and HHI, click here to read his impressive biography.

On this live call, you can ask questions about health or listen in as Dr. Brian personally answers questions and concerns, sharing personal wisdom gained over the last 45+ years about The Real Truth About Health.

Learn the latest health news and trends.
Learn the truth about which foods, supplements and lifestyle choices really are in your highest short and long term good and which aren't.

Ask Dr. Brian - Is there a question you have NOT been able to get a good solid answer to?
Where do you go to get the information you need? Are you choosing the best course of action? This is your chance to ask Dr. Brian Clement any question you have regarding health, nutrition and supplementation.

Listen live as people worldwide get answer to health concerns.

To join the hundreds of other people already registered for this free webinar, click here.

I hope that you will join me in taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity to benefit from Dr. Brian's extensive knowledge and experience!

-Tamera

It's Harvest Season!

This is my favorite time of year! The sun is shining, our veggie garden is overflowing with greens, and we are back in Oregon, busy harvesting the wonderfully nutritious blue-green algae that grows in Klamath Lake.

Many people have questions about our E3Live, and I'd like to take a moment to answer them for you.

First off, no, this is not the same type of algae that grows in your pool if you stop paying your pool guy to show up and work his wonder. There are literally thousands of types of algae, and, while some are disgusting and even deadly, that is not the case with Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, or AFA for short. 

AFA is the single-cell super food that grows abundantly in the warm, shallow, mineral-rich waters of Klamath Lake in Southern Oregon. While many other nutritious algae are grown in vats and cement troughs, our AFA, sold under our brand name E3Live, is wild harvested. 

What does that mean? It means that we let Mother Nature combine the raw ingredients of sunlight, minerals and water and all we do is simply go out on the lake and harvest the results. No troughs, no vats. Just the pristine lake and the "magic" of nature. We give careful attention to selecting and harvesting the freshest AFA blooms, put them through our quality-controlled purification process, then bottle and freeze them before sending out for our clients to enjoy! 

Each and every bottle of our E3Live naturally contains more than 65 vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids. But all this good stuff doesn't mean anything unless your body can use it! Because the fresh liquid form of AFA is readily absorbed by your body, you can be sure that you are receiving the maximum benefits of all these nutrients. 

I'm also often asked what is the best way to use E3Live. My answer? Whatever your imagination can dream of! Add it to smoothies and juices, combine it with water, take it as a "shot" of pure energy, make it into ice cubes, add it to cold soups - anything goes, provided that you do not cook it.

Here's Jayden enjoying a peanut butter and algae sandwich, fresh from the harvester. 

AFA is more dense when first harvested, and therefore, easier to spread on bread. While E3Live in the bottle is in a more liquid form than AFA straight out of the lake, you can still enjoy this sandwich if you're not on the harvester with us! Just mix some E3Live into some raw nut butter, spread it on organic bread (preferably home made!), and you have a nutritious, delicious and very filling snack for the whole family to enjoy!

I hope that I've given you plenty of information to answer your questions, but if there's anything else you'd like to know, just ask in the comments section and I'll be sure to answer you!

Til next time -

Tamera

How to Cleanse in 7 Days: Be Sexy and Gorgeous From the Inside Out!

My dear friend (and huge E3Live fan!) Evita Ramparte has written a fabulous E-book called How to Cleanse in 7 Days: Be Sexy & Gorgeous From the Inside Out! It’s a quick and very fun read, filled with gorgeous pictures and interesting and insightful thoughts.

In this book, Evita tells her own story of naturally healing herself of cancer and losing a lot of fat, while, at the same time, clearing up her skin and creating a life of exciting new possibilities for herself and for others. What I really love about How to Cleanse in 7 Days is the wisdom and science mixed in with the lighthearted wit Evita is famous for. She takes nothing too seriously, least of all herself, telling her readers to experiment and find for themselves which things work and what to leave behind. 

                 And speaking of leaving things behind, this is a book on 

                 how to cleanse your body as well as your mind and soul. 

Evita writes that we can not be fully cleansed and enjoy optimal health until we truly forgive and clean out our emotional lives, replacing anger and sadness with wonder and joy. In this, she is not alone. Most spiritual and philosophical practices tell us that forgiveness is the path to true peace of mind and health for mind and body. In this book, Evita gives her readers a protocol on just how to clear the mind and soul of negative emotions that have bogged us down for years, even decades.

World’s Best Candied Walnut Recipe

I’ve always loved the funny look of walnuts – like crunchy brains nestled in bumpy little shell “skulls”.  You probably don’t want to think about eating brains, and I don’t blame you. But, as a child, I just delighted in the thought of eating “nut brains” and I’d crunch on them every chance I got. What can I say? I had a very active (and, admittedly strange) imagination.

Recent scientific studies have shown that walnuts have both more healthful antioxidants and higher qualities of antioxidants than any other nut. That’s music to my ears, because now I have a great reason to eat my fill of walnuts. 

Here’s my recipe for a super healthy snack that also satisfies my sweet tooth. And, in an upcoming post, I’ll give you a recipe for a scrumptious salad to use your walnuts in. So, without further ado, I present to you the World’s Best Candied Walnut Recipe.

Thanksgiving Dressing Flaxseed Crackers

Our ancestors sure knew a thing or two about a thing or two, didn’t they? It seems that every time we make a health “discovery”, the ancients were already there centuries ahead of us.

Take the flaxseed, for example. People are now calling this tiny seed one of the most powerful plant foods on the planet. And scientific findings are telling us that the Omega-3 fatty acids, lignans and fiber found in flaxseed protect our bodies against cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammation and hot flashes. But, even as early as 3,000 BC, the Babylonians were cultivating flaxseeds for their health benefits. 

So, it’s true now as ever – everything old is new again.

Grow Your Own Celery!

One of my favorite places to get helpful health information is the Hippocrates Health Institute, a non profit health institute based in Florida. Their website is chock full of tips on healthy living, nutrition and alternative therapies. Visit them today at http://www.hippocratesinst.org! A big thank you to Hippocrates Health Institute for letting us share this quick tip with you on how to grow celery right in your own back yard.

Info & Reservations 1 888 228 1755

What did the cucumber say to the celery? A: "Quit stalking me!" Have you priced organic celery lately? HHI Greenhouse Manager Brian Hetrich shares the perfect solution for you -- grow your own!   You know how lots of folks cut off and throw away the base of the celery bunch? Instead, you can put it in the ground and it will grow back! Start by soaking the base in a saucer with about a half inch of water for a few days and then plant it outside. Celery likes fertile well-drained soil, partial shade and frequent watering. You may never have to buy celery again! Brian Hetrich is responsible for growing all of the living foods at Hippocrates Health Institute in the greenhouse and organic garden. As part of the Life Transformation Program, he teaches classes to guests on gardening, juicing and raising sprouts and wheatgrass. A naturopathic doctor, Brian left his private practice in Maryland to come to Hippocrates in 2012. Visit our website to learn more about the benefits of wheatgrass and living foods.  About Hippocrates Health Institute Our philosophy is founded on the belief that a vegan, living, enzyme-rich diet - complimented by exercise, positive thinking and non-invasive therapies -- are integral to optimum health. We believe that good health is every person's birthright, and that a life free of disease and pain is our human legacy. Visithippocratesinst.org to learn more about our programs.

Guest Post - Evita Ramparte

7 Health Benefits Of Coconut Water

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of coconut water. I’ve talked here about all the great benefits before, and when Evita Ramparte kindly and generously offered to give us her take on the wonder drink, I jumped at the chance! You can read about Evita’s miraculous journey here. So, without further ado, here is Evita in her own words:

Coconut is the king of all super foods. Because it has high counts of vitamins and minerals, among many other things, that are bio available, our bodies absorb and consume them almost immediately. Here are the most amazing health benefits of coconut water.

7 Health Benefits Of Coconut Water

Almost -Traditional Quinoa Tabouli

Do you love quinoa and the exotic flavors of the Middle East? This new version of a famous traditional dish will become an addiction you won’t need to quit! It’s easy to make and packs a nutritional punch. Whether you eat it as a side dish or an entrée, Almost – Traditional Quinoa Tabouli is about as good for you as you can get. Whip up a large batch, put it in your fridge and enjoy! It keeps for 2-3 days, with the flavors blending and maturing for ever-increased yumminess.

This recipe was given to me by a dear friend, who learned to make Tabouli by watching her Lebanese grandmother turn it out year after year. Traditionally, it is made with cracked wheat bulgur,  which she replaces with quinoa in order to avoid gluten and increase the nutrition factor. With just a handful of easily found ingredients and a few simple steps for preparation, anyone can make it!

G-M-Oh-Oh (Part 3)

Pretty scary stuff, don’t you think? What I find most disturbing is how quickly GMOs have entered our food supply without proper research and understanding of their long-term impact on our health and well-being. We have already had confirmed instances of harm.

For example, in 1989, dozens of Americans died and several thousands were afflicted and impaired by a genetically altered version of the food supplement – L-tryptophan. A settlement of $2 billion dollars was paid by Showa Denko, Japan’s third largest chemical company.

But that’s not all. There are so many other potential risks we face as a result of the spread of genetically modified crops. Here’s a sampling:

G-M-Oh-Oh (Part 2)

In G-M-Oh-Oh (Part 1), I talked about what Genetic Modification is, and the different methods with which it is done. In this post, we will take a look at the many common foods that have undergone Genetic Modification (GM). Hey, you can eat whatever you choose, but, isn’t it a good idea to know what it is that you’re putting into your body before you reach for it? I think so. If you agree, read on.

The public was first offered a commercially grown GM food in 1994, when the FDA approved the sale of the Flavr Savr tomato. This tomato had been engineered to slow the ripening process, which was supposed to have enabled farmers to let the tomato ripen before harvesting, as opposed to the traditional method of harvesting green tomatoes and allowing them to ripen during transport. It didn’t quite work out as intended. The unfortunately-named Flavr Savr tomatoes actually had very little flavor, which, combined with how difficult they were to transport, led to their being off the market only 3 years later.