Living Green

This is my journey into raw food! I have had several requests for me to let others know what I’m doing for my ‘new lifestyle’! So I figured the easiest way to do this was put it on my blog for all to see!

So…I always get the question…what do you eat?!?! Everybody is afraid that I’m going to starve! HA…if they only knew!

First off the information I’m going off of is from the book “Green for Life” check my pages for its’ information! This book mentions that Chimpanzees (99.4% same DNA as humans) eat 50% fruits, 40% green leafy vegetables – this doesn’t mean carrots, avocados, peppers, etc…they are all fruits or roots of the plant, 10% seeds, nuts, etc. They rarely (only in off season) eat small animals.

With another frown, I get the second question…how do you get enough protein? Well you may have heard that amino acids are the building blocks to protein… (That’s what protein is made up of.) Green leafy vegetables like Kale, Chard, Romaine, Dandelion greens, etc… all have different amino acids in them – therefore your body can take the different amino acids and build protein how your body sees fit! Instead of eating protein that was made for another animals body type!

So now you have the basics of what a raw foodists should eat.

I started this lifestyle on June 2, 2009. I am currently very overweight – obese would be the term. So I know this will benefit me in that way – but my goal really is to find optimum health for myself!

The first few days really weren’t that bad. Every morning I make a fresh green smoothie! In the book that I’m getting my information from – they mention to start off with more fruit than greens, your body will tell you when you need to lessen the fruit and add more greens – you’ll crave it!

The first smoothie I made was: (In blender)

Strawberries – leave the green tops on (½ full)

Banana ¼ full

Spinach leaves – ¼ full

Chia seed – 1 Tablespoon

BLEND and ENJOY!

WATER - a cup or two - or depending on how thick or juicy you want it!

The second one I made was:

Pineapple – 1/3 full

Mango -1

Kiwi -1

Egg – 1 (raw)

Chia seed – 1 Tablespoon

Chard – fill rest up to top - Found out it’s a lot green tasting than spinach

Water

The third one I’ve made:

Pineapple 1/3 full

Mango - 1

Kiwi – 2

Chia seed – 1 Tablespoon

Spinach – fill up to top – plus added more for a green color

Water

The fourth one I’ve made:

Pineapple 1/3 full

Apple – 1

Kiwi -2

Chia seed – 1 Tablespoon

Spinach – filled up to top (Had lots more greens in this one! But loved the taste!

Water

You may see from the different smoothies that I’ve rotated through so far and I always add chia seed! Chia seed is a great fiber and the seeds are really small so you mistake them for fruit seeds – like kiwi seeds! They are also extremely high in your omega 3 fatty acids!

As of today June 9, 2009, I have lost a total of 7.5 pounds (1 week). I have so much energy – it’s unbelievable – from green smoothies! I now crave greener smoothies – so I’m starting to put in less fruit and more greens! Everybody I work with thinks they look disgusting, but when I sample them out – they say ‘oh wow it really doesn’t taste bad!’ Actually several of them like the blend I’ve thrown together! If you are willing to try these or different blends – let me know – I’d like some good recipes!

DETOXING!

Another thing I’d like to mention - and as I suspected - I have been detoxing for several days (about 7 so far).  I have cold like symptoms - the first few days I had a runny nose really bad, now it’s starting to lighten up.  I still cough but now not so bad.  These are the methods that your body uses to get toxins out of the body!  My lungs feel heavy with mucous - a reaction to cough gets the mucous carrying toxins out of my lungs….the runny nose does the same!

I have for sometime known that I have a candida issue - my sinus issues were not fun, I craved sugar so intensely -I couldn’t control it.  (If you are craving sugar - it’s actually the candida that is craving the sugar.  Your body naturally will not crave some that depletes you of valuable nutrients.  Another tidbit of information - 1 tsp of sugar in the body takes 40 different nutrients, mostly minerals to neutralize that acids in sugar.  I can of soda contains about 8 tsps.)

Now I am in the what is called the ‘die off’ stage. Where I’m not taking in sugar - besides what is naturally in fruits and vegetables.  So now that candida is dying off faster and faster - and my body is having a hard time trying to get it all out  - through the runny nose and the cough up mucous from the lungs!

I also had diarrhea a few times - it was suggested to me to get some charcoal tablets to help absorb all the toxins coming out of my body - it’s another way to get these died of candida out of my body.    I decided to go with ReNew Life’s AbsorbMore Toxins - because it has a combination: Bentonite Clay, Glucomannan, Charcoal.  Bentonite Clay is great for absorbing toxins through the skin (in a poultice) or drinking it.  Glucomannan is a fiber - the whole purpose of our diets have fiber is to absorb toxins and eliminate them.  The charcoal as before also absorbs the toxins.  To this is a trifold approach to getting toxins out of the body.

Many people that I have talked with in the health food store - say that my complexion is great - they say that I have a natural glow!  Exciting…I can’t wait to see what else happens!

I have also discovered a very good dessert:

Mix with a whisk: 3 Tbsp Coconut oil, 1 T Raw Honey, 2 T cacao powder (natural - not dutch processed!)  Mix together and drizzle over strawberries, bananas or any other fruit that you like!  It’s fabulous and raw!

Today is the 10th:

I would like to mention that I do not need as much sleep as I used to - I get about 6-7 hours (where as before I could sleep between 8-10 hours).  I wake up earlier in the morning - which I have come to love!  When I was younger I use to be a morning person but when I got the college that changed.  Now I’m getting up earlier and earlier and loving it!

I am still detoxing - but it’s starting to really slow down - the runny nose has lessened - and I’m still coughing up mucous!

Another thing that I started last night was taking a hot bath and I put in food grade Hydrogen Peroxide.  I put in 3 Tablespoons. For the next 5 times I add 3T every time - so on the 5th day I’ll be putting in 15T.  This helps detox clogged pores in the skin - some people around the 5th day have black or colored particals that come through the skin.  THE BEST PART - MY SKIN IS SILKY SOFT - I FEEL LIKE I HAVE BABY SKIN - IT’S ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.  When I did get out of the tub the water did seem somewhat discolored - not really foggy - but just a different tone to it!  I’ll keep you all posted if something new develops.

Please comment – I’ll keep updating this!

The combination I use:

Boil water like making tea!

Add 1-2 Tablespoons ACV

Add 1-2 Tablespoons of Honey (preferably raw)

TASTE LIKE A HOT APPLE CIDER DRINK!

NJOY THE HEALTH BENEFITS: ANTI-FUNGAL - so it helps Diabetes, Inflammation-Joint Pain, Acid Reflux, and so much more!

From Natual News

That lovely fragrance of cinnamon comes from the bark of the cinnamon tree, a moderately large evergreen that is native to Sri Lanka. It has been around for at least 2000 years. According to the Bible, Moses used cinnamon to make holy oil (Exodus 20:33). Legend has it that the emperor, Nero, burned a year’s supply of cinnamon at his wife’s funeral. Cinnamon, known botanically as Cinnamomum zeylanicum, has the ability to have a positive effect on blood sugar and cholesterol.

Aside from adding spice and being inexpensive and easy to obtain, cinnamon’s glory may lie in its ability to regulate blood sugar. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published several cinnamon studies on human beings. Findings report that about one half teaspoon a day results in an impressive improvement in blood sugar. Cinnamon works by enhancing the body’s ability to use the insulin it already produces, especially in muscle tissue.

Cinnamon has also demonstrated a highly beneficial impact on cholesterol. Specifically, it lowers the LDL, more commonly known as the “bad cholesterol.”

Across the board, cinnamon is known to ease intestinal cramps, relieve gas, promote movement of food through the digestive system and act as a muscle relaxant. It has obtained some popularity as a method to relieve both menstrual and night time leg cramps as well.

Another helpful property of cinnamon is its antibacterial effect. It is especially useful for fighting intestinal germs. Some people claim it can ward off mild food poisoning.

The only form of cinnamon that is truly useful for humans is powdered bark, in capsule form. The oil contains compounds that can be harmful. Doses of 1000mg daily have been shown to make a difference in both blood sugar and LDL.

Consumers need to know that the powdered cinnamon found in supermarkets is far too old to have any healing benefit. The most efficacious method for cinnamon intake is a commercial preparation designed for that purpose.

Although the oil can be harmful to humans if ingested regularly, it is useful in other ways. Just as cinnamon fights intestinal “bugs”, it also fights the real thing. A few drops of cinnamon oil on strips of white cotton ribbon, white cotton bias tape or plain paper towels hung in windows can be an effective insect repellent.

Cinnamon should be part of a daily eating plan, suggests A. Kahn, M.D., a diabetes researcher who has studied the effects of cinnamon on blood sugar. For the best effects, however, it takes more than a sprinkle on your morning oatmeal.

Kahn, A. Diabetes Care. December 2003; vol 26 (12): pp 3215-3218.
Qin, B., et al. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. July 2003

So most of you know that I work in a health food store and I get lots of interesting stories there! Not long after I started I was talking with a lady who was telling me about the body pH levels. I was interested and did some research of my own! she has mentioned that the body should be slightly alkaline and that cancer can’t survive in an alkaline environment! I thought wow! She mentioned a friend of hers had cancer and was given 2 months to live! He got his pH levels up to about 8! (normal body pH should be about 7.4) He is still living 10 years later - no cancer. This story struck me as very interesting!

Not long after this conversation, I learned about Candida (a yeast or fungus). I had bronchitis as was using oil of oregano as a natural antibiotic (apparently everybody around me had it for about 3 weeks - mine was gone in 1.5 weeks GOOD STUFF!) I was also taking the Pearls (probiotic) Immune from enzymatic therapy! So after three weeks of taking this probiotic I realized that week I didn’t have a sinus infection! I had been getting headaches every day and a couple sinus infections a week (or more). It was not fun. I talked with the representative for our store from enzymatic therapy. It was then she told me that my sinus infection were probably due to the Candida overgrowth! I thought this was great stuff.

This past week we had a training on a product called Candida Freedom. Some of the things mentioned were:
Dandruff is Candida - it’s a fungus
In the America lifestyle most people have candida - because to much sugars and simple carbs.
(Candida craves sugar - your body naturally doesn’t want sugar because it’s so bad for you…candida is fed by the sugar!)

Sugar makes the body very acidic - Candida can’t survive in an alkaline environment!

Candida is systemic - it’s root system burrows into organs -if you treat it (like cranberry juice for a yeast infection) it just takes the symptoms away! The roots still remain - which is why many people who have one yeast infection often have reoccurring ones as well!

Candida creates a leaky gut: (where do you think allergies come from!)
When partially digested food, toxins, and bacteria pass through the small intestine and enter the bloodstream, this is referred to as a condition known as leaky gut syndrome, or LGS. In simple terms, large spaces occur in between the cells that compose the wall of the gut. Since these spaces exist in the gut wall, bacteria, toxins, and food can find their way into the bloodstream.
How does the body compensate for these foreign invaders?
It responds with inflammation, allergic reactions, and other unpleasant symptoms.
(Candida acts like a hole puncher - goes along the intestines and eats holes.)

So this week I had a conversation and it’s was mentioned that they’d read somewhere that candida was cancer!

I started thinking about this…candida creates an acidic environment because it craves and feeds off of sugar! My next thought was that I knew cancer thrived in acidic conditions within the body! Candida is a fungus which is white - kind of like pustules. I recalled that cancer was white - like these white pustules (must have seen pictures of cancer growing on an organ a while ago - otherwise not sure why i new cancer was white!) So this was another connection I came across - both were white!

Today I came across these two videos they are each about 10 minutes - but the information backs up everything I’ve been thinking this week!
Cancer is white, so is fungus,
Candida/cancer thrive in an acidic condition - so treat with a alkaline substance - like baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)!

Cancer is a fungus:

Watch these two videos

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQuODiMlUsc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri-C8VvF3Rs

Here is a good quiz that I came across if you are interested - it will let you know if candida is thriving in your body do to symptoms you may have:
http://www.howtocurecandida.com/survey/

(Mine was second to the highest for candida symptoms - although I’ve had a lot of sugar this past week - craving it - and yesterday i had a headache - all of which I am now aware is overgrowth of candida - since I haven’t drank enough water or taken my probiotics regularly this week!)

http://www.howtocurecandida.com/survey/

Braggs Amino Acid is used in many recipes from The Essential Oil Cookbook. Many raw foodists and others believe that Braggs Amino Acid, a non-fermented soy sauce available in health food stores all over the world, is a neurotoxin and unhealthy to ingest and that soy itself is dangerous for the health. However there is much evidence to suggest that soybeans are a safe substitute for meat, in fact a lot healthier to eat than meat. Personally I have been consuming Braggs on a daily basis in place of salt for over a decade and have never had a problem with it. If it was so toxic, I would be sick by now.

First, let’s look at the arguments against Braggs.

Griselda Blazey has a B.S. in biology, a M.S. is biochemistry, and a Ph.D. (actually a post-doctorate) in endocrinology. She also has a degree from the now defunct College of Dietary Therapy in England. She authored a book, “Food Matters”, and a workbook called, “Nutritional Transformation”, and used to teach a course by that name. She has been teaching cell physiology, metabolic disorders, and nutrition at Life Chiropractic College West, in San Leandro,California for the past four years. The first time I heard her theory on the saltiness of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos was during a lecture she gave at a San Francisco Living Foods Support Group meeting a few years ago. Here is the text from her recent letter:

“The other topic you asked about in your letter was about how Bragg’s Aminos are made. Once again, here’s an armchair biologist’s answer, meaning that I don’t know this for sure, but it’s the only thing that makes scientific sense. If I were given some vegetable protein and were asked to make it into amino acids without spending a lot of money on it, I would boil it up with some hydrochloric acid. This would break it down to amino acids, but of course it would be too acidic to be palatable. So I would then neutralize the acid with baking soda, causing the reaction mixture to look like this:

2HCl + Na2CO3 ===> 2NaCl + CO2 + H2O

So the salt gets made by mistake as it were. Now someone (I forget who) followed up on this and contacted the Bragg’s company to ask if this was how they did it, and they denied it. However, they didn’t disclose how they do actually do it, so in the absence of correct information, and with an extremely salty taste in their product, I still consider the above process to play at least some part in their procedure.”

That’s it. We don’t know for sure. All I know is that Griselda has an impressive mind for original theoretical scientific thought, and I sure felt
awful after having a bit of Bragg’s a several years ago, just like I did when after having some dulse flakes in raw food recipes - I think that they heat the dulse to drive out the moisture so that it is chopable, thus cooking it and making the “deadly” form of sodium chloride.

Hope you find her theory interesting and worthy of second-thinking the inclusion of the Bragg’s product in recipes. - Dave Klein, 1997

It looks like we finally got some proof from the Braggs company that the liquid aminos product is heat processed and made with hydrochloric acid. Salt apparently forms in its processing, plus glutamic acid which is the same poison which is in MSG.

Many many raw fooders have apparently been lied to and duped by the Braggs who have until recently stated that the product
is all raw and not processed with heat or chemicals. And many many folks like myself become ill very soon after ingesting the crap. Sea
salt is less deadly than Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, but then I prefer tomatoes to get minerals salts in my diet when I want to enjoy salty flavors. Try adding sun dried tomatoes to salads too.
by Lee Hitchcox, D.C.

Lee Hitchcox, D.C., is a chiropractor, nutritional consultant, ultra-marathon runner, and a nationally recognized expert in the field of optimal health maintenance. He is the author of Long Life Now: Strategies for Staying Alive and has been featured on hundreds of TV and radio programs.

Dr Hitchcox is a diplomat of the Natinal Board of Chiropractic Examiners, an editorial board member of the Holistic Health Journal, a member of the Institute of Healing arts and Science and the Health Medicine Forum. He has taught in several colleges, universities and hospitals and is a former faculty member of Logan College of Chiropractic, St. Louis.

He was trained by the U.S. Army in chemical and biological warfare before serving in Vietnam. He made his own transition to a healthier lifestyle after losing several family members to degenerative disease. he devoted 8 years of research to life extension strategies after his wife died of breast cancer and his father of osteoporosis. His articles have appeared in several national publications and his books are sold throughout North america.

Dr Hitchcox has been on the Hunza diet of the Himalayan region for the last 15 years and is well known for his lectures on biological age, longevity and long-lived cultures. His favorite sports include adventure racing, mountain climbing, rock and ice climbing, kayaking, rappelling, skiing, skydiving, hand-gliding and ultra-marathons.

“Not knowing exactly how Braggs is made, I not sure where to to place Braggs in the above two categories. However, I have not seen any research, good or bad, specifically on Braggs ability to induce hypothyroidism or any other condition.

“All the proposed chemicals supposedly used in the making of Braggs Liquid Aminos are benign. Hydrochloric acid, baking soda and sodium chloride all play big roles in biochemistry. The human body cannot live without all three, in fairly large quantities.

“Soy products have been used by Asians for thousands of years, but they only use traditional soy products (tempe, tofu, miso) and not products of American commerce (isolated soy protein, soy powders, soy milk). All the research I’ve seen on the hazards of soy products concern products of American commerce, not traditional soy products. Women especially who are borderline hypothyroid should not use non-traditional soy products.

“Also you will note that glutamic acid is only a benign non-essential amino acid that occurs naturally in certain protein-rich foods.”
Comments from the not-milkman, Robert Cohen

According to Mercola.com and his group of soy-bashers (soyonlineservice.com, Sally Fallon, and the Price Pottinger Institute), broccoli is also a deadly poison and must be avoided. So too, for that matter, should you never again eat seeds, whole grains, berries, fruit, vegetables, nuts, or sprouts. Let’s explore why.

Despite the fact that phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) are not steroids like human estrogen, there are those who would have you induce vomiting, if ever you swallowed a soy product containing isoflavones. My advice to you is to not swallow their illogical line of reasoning.

For each milligram of phytoestrogens that she eats in soy products, the average American woman will also consume an additional four milligrams of pytoestrogens from fruits and vegetables. Advice to abstain from phytoestrogens is insanity, and Internet hype and hysteria has infected the good judgement of many so-called health advocates. This includes many ignorant physicians, who read one such article and assimilate just enough information to offer erroneous and dangerous
health advice to their patients.

Phytoestrogens are widely distributed in plants. There are three categories of phytoestrogens–isoflavones (which are found in soy), lignans (seeds, fruits and veggies), and coumestans (broccoli and sprouts). So, if you take the advice of Internet soy-bashing ignoramuses and do not drink soymilk because you fearphytoestrogens, by all means, you must give up fruits, veggies, nuts, and grains too.

The only reason that phytoestrogens are considered to be very dangerous is that the name sounds like estrogen, even though they are not steroid hormones, and even though their mechanisms of action do not mimic estrogen. Beware of phytoestrogens, you are told. Like the “boogeyman,” phytoestrogens in fruit and veggies are gonna get you while you sleep.

A publication in the February 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (R. Ziegler, 2004;79:183-4) suggests that women who eat high levels of soy isoflavones have lower rates of breast cancer than those who consume low levels of isoflavones.

Dr. Regina Ziegler is a researcher with the National Cancer Institute. She has taught health and nutrition courses at Yale and Harvard Universities. Ziegler writes:

“The daily intake of phytoestrogens in white U.S women has been estimated to be <1 mg, with 80% from lignans, 20% from isoflavones, and <0.1 from coumestans.”

In other words, according to Ziegler, an expert in her field, Americans eat four times the amount of phytoestrogens in fruit and veggies as they do from soy products.

Ziegler continues:

“Historically, breast cancer rates in the United States have been 4-7 times those in Asia, whereas isoflavone intake in the United States is <1% that in Asian populations.”

So should you take Mercola’s advice and eliminate soy and all fruits and vegetables because of phytoestrogens? Should you also follow his dietary advice by eating raw milk and dairy products and raw meat? If you follow Mercola, you will be led into a cave with other Neanderthals.

You might consider contrary advice. An apple a day does keep the doctor away because of those magical phytoestrogens. So too do brown rice and almonds, broccoli, and fresh sprouts. Go heavy on the soy.

Dead raw flesh and cooked animal parts should not be served with body fluids from diseased animals. Every cell in your miraculous body craves life, not death. Cells and enzymes from carrots and oranges. Green plants containing chlorophyll, and calcium with magnesium in a proportion that is efficiently utilized by the human body. A rose will never become a dead chicken, even if it is so re-named. Neither would a phytoestrogen become a steroid hormone, nor act like one.

For health, eat isoflavones and phytoestrogens. Your body will thank you.

Incredible as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single
most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off.
Although most of us take for granted, water may be the only
true “magic potion” for permanent weight loss.Water supresses the appetite naturally and helps the body
metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in
water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an
increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.

Here’s why: The kidneys can’t function properly without enough
water. When they don’t work to capacity, some of their load is
dumped onto the liver. One of the liver’s primary functions is
to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. But
if the liver has to do some of the kidney’s work it can’t
operate at full throttle. As a result, it metabolizes less fat
more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops.

Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention.
When the body gets less water,it perceives this as a threat to
survival and begins to hold on to every drop. Water is stored
in extracellular spaces (outside the cell). This shows up as
swollen feet, legs and hands.

Diuretics offer a temporary solution at best. They force out
stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the
body perceives a treat and will replace the lost water at the
first opportunity. Thus, the condition quickly returns.

The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to
give your body what it needs — plenty of water. Only then will
stored water be released.

If you have a constant problem with water retention, excess salt
may be to blame. Your body will tolerate sodium only in a
certain concentration. The more salt you eat the more water
your system retains to dilute it.

But getting rid of unneeded salt is easy — just drink more
water. As it’s forced through the kidneys it takes away excess
sodium.

The overweight person needs more water than a thin one. Larger
people have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is
the key to fat metabolism, it follows that the over weight
person needs more water.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles
their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration.
It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows
weigh loss — shrinking cells are buoyed by water which plumps
the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body
has a lot more waste to get rid of — all that metabolized fat
must be shed. Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste.

Water can help relieve constipation. When the body gets too
little water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources.
The colon is one primary source. Result? Constipation. But
when a person drinks enough water, normal bowel function usually
returns.

So far, we’ve discovered some remarkable truths about water and
weight loss:

* The body will not function properly without enough
water and can’t metabolize stored fat efficiently.

* Retained water shows up as excess weight.

* To get rid of excess water you must drink more water.

* Drinking water is essential to weight loss.

How much water is enough? On the average, a person should drink
8-ounce glasses every day. That’s about 2 quarts. However, the
overweight person needs one additional glass for every 25 pounds
of excess weight. The amount you drink also should be increased
if you exercise briskly or if the weather is hot and dry.

Water should preferably be cold. It’s absorbed into the system
more quickly than warm water. And some evidence suggests that
drinking cold water can actually help burn calories. To
utilize water most efficiently during weight loss, follow this
schedule:

Morning: 1 quart consumed over a 30-minute period.

Noon: 1 quart consumed over a 30-minute period.

Evening: 1 quart consumed between five and six o’clock.

When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally,
it’s fluids are perfectly balanced. When this happens, you have
reached the “breakthrough point.” What does this mean?

* Endocrine-gland function improves.

* Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost.

* More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to
metabolize stored fat.

* Natural thirst returns.

* There is a loss of hunger almost over night.

If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluids will be
thrown out of balance again, and you may experience fluid
retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst. To
remedy the situation you’ll have to go back and force another
“breakthrough.”

So the question was asked - why are my nails always breaking (brittle)?  Here is some information that I found…

BREAKING NAILS

Natural Cures for Breaking Nails - More Than Home Remedies

Nails that break often could be too brittle. One way to fix brittle nails is to apply cream or lotion to the hands and nails.

Even nails that are not brittle can break often without good care. Filing nails weekly will help keep them in good condition.

If your nails always break when they reach a certain length, file them shorter before they reach that length. This will prevent them from breaking off and leaving you with a stub.

If you see a small break starting at the side of the nail, cutting the nail shorter and filing it will prevent it from painfully breaking off above the white section.

The healthiest nails come from good nutrition. It is important to get enough B vitamins, Vitamin A, zinc, iodine, iron, calcium, magnesium, and protein in your diet for your nails to be healthy. Omega 3 oil and garlic improve nail health. More is not better with Vitamin A and iron - stick with the recommended daily allowance, and it is best to get your vitamins from food whenever possible. In fact, too much Vitamin A can cause brittle nails.

Some more information found…

For anyone who’s ever wanted the savory taste of meats and cheeses without actually having to eat them, chemists have identified molecular mechanisms underlying the sensation of umami, also known as the fifth taste. The historically unappreciated taste is produced by two interacting sets of molecules, each of which is needed to trigger cellular receptors on your tongue’s surface. “This opens the door to designing better, more potent and more selective umami enhancers,” said Xiaodong Li, a chemist at San Diego-based food-additive company Senomyx. Four other basic tastes — bitter, sweet, salty and sour — were identified 2,400 years ago by the Greek philosopher Democritus, and became central to the western gastronomic canon. In the late 19th century, French chef and veal-stock inventor Auguste Escoffier suggested that a fifth taste was responsible for his mouth-watering brew. Though Escoffier’s dishes were popular, his theories were dismissed until 1908, when Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda showed that an amino acid called glutamate underlies the taste of a hearty variety of seaweed soup. In honor of Ikeda, the taste was dubbed umami, the Japanese word for delicious. It took another 80 years for umami to be recognized by science as comparable to the other four tastes. In the meantime, monosodium glutamate became wildly popular as a flavor enhancer. But MSG can cause headaches and dizziness, and has been tenuously linked to long-term neurological disorders. “The only way to have a substitute is to find the molecular target of glutamate. If we figure that out, then we can screen for agents that are not glutamate but could mimic it,” said Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist Solomon Snyder, who was not involved in the new study. Li’s team have taken human kidney cells and added the genes for receptors linked to umami taste. Receptors form on the cells’ surface, geometrically resembling the mouth of a Venus flytrap. When glutamate is caught on a receptor’s lips and a molecule called ribonucleotide lodged in its throat, the receptor snaps shut. “The configuration of the receptor changes, sending a signal down into the cell,” said Li. In their engineered and disconnected cells the signal quickly fizzled — but in a tongue surface cell, said Li, “Your brain gets a signal: Something tastes good that is in my mouth.” Sources: WIRED December 22, 2008 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences December 22, 2008

The four basic tastes — sweet, sour, salty and bitter — you were taught in grade school were actually incomplete. Your tongue can also taste a fifth basic taste: umami.

Umami is the taste of glutamate, which is a savory flavor found in many Japanese foods, bacon and also the toxic food additive MSG. It is because of umami that foods with MSG taste heartier, more robust and generally better to a lot of people than foods without it.

Despite its ability to enhance flavor, MSG is one of the worst food additives on the market. It is an excitotoxin, which means that it overexcites your cells to the point of damage, acting as a poison.

Fortunately, people are catching on to its dangers, and as such are trying to avoid foods that contain MSG. This is where the food-additive company Senomyx, which employs the chemist who co-authored the above study, comes in.

They are in the business of creating food chemicals and manipulating your taste buds, and are likely hoping to one day develop a chemical that will activate your umami taste receptors.

The company has already developed several chemicals that, although they contain no flavor of their own, activate or block receptors in your mouth that taste. The chemicals can mimic or enhance savory, sweet and salty tastes, and are intended to reduce the use of sugar, salt and MSG in processed foods.

One of Senomyx’s chemicals even causes a “cooling” taste, and we have only just begun to hear about the “innovations” that come from this company.

Senomyx already has 119 patents, and 389 more pending, in the United States, Europe and elsewhere in the world.

You Won’t Know Whether Senomyx’s Chemicals are in Your Food

While at first glance it may seem like a positive step to create processed foods with less sugar, salt or MSG, keep in mind that this is being done with synthetic chemicals.

Senomyx was able to obtain FDA approval and a “generally recognized as safe” classification from the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association in less than a year and a half, based on a safety study of rats conducted for just 3 months.

That’s right: one three-month long study is apparently enough for major food manufacturers to decide that a never-before-used chemical is safe for you and your family to eat.

And these chemical compounds are NOT required to be listed separately on food labels; they are simply grouped into the general category of “artificial flavors.” So if you pick up a processed food that has “no MSG,” “less sugar,” or “reduced sodium” it may very well also contain Senomyx’s chemicals, and you’ll have no way of knowing.

Senomyx has entered into collaborations with the following food and beverage companies:

So far, Nestle has already begun adding a savory flavor enhancer to some of its bouillon products. And Coca-Cola and Cadbury are planning to begin using Senomyx’s compounds in early 2009.

 When it comes to adding synthetic substances like this it would seem obvious that the best strategy is guilty till proven innocent, a variation of the precautionary principle.

I suspect it is relatively harmless in small quantities for most but it is hard to imagine it not moving nearly everyone to some ill health or disease if they regularly used it.

Just Another Reason to Limit Processed Foods

Flavor enhancers that manipulate your taste buds are just one more reason to return your diet to whole, unprocessed foods — preferably organic and biodynamically grown and locally harvested. Real foods have flavors that your taste buds won’t want to miss, and if you want to add less salt to your homemade soup or stew, or cut the sugar out of your favorite healthy dessert, you can do so without having to replace it with a mystery chemical.

Although it does take a bit more planning and time in the kitchen, preparing food at home, using fresh, locally grown ingredients, will give you better flavor and more health value than any processed food that you could buy at your supermarket.

It’s always great to find phtyonutrient-based research being published and getting some well-deserved attention. In general, it is wise to include as many different varieties of vegetables in your diet as you can tolerate, based on your nutritional type.  

As a general rule, the greater the variety and the larger the volume, the better. When it comes to healing carbohydrates, most of the beneficial healing elements of food are in the vegetables, whereas the grains are a major contributing factor to most of our modern culture’s diseases.  

The healing, restorative power of vegetables have been researched and known for some time, but remains largely obscured; overshadowed by the massive marketing of pharmaceutical drugs that seek to provide symptomatic relief, however more expensively, oftentimes less effectively, and with a plethora of damaging health consequences as, unlike vegetables, they nearly always fail to address the cause of the problem.  

For example, one 2001 study discovered that women who reported consuming at least 2.5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily as adolescents were 46 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer.  I can’t think of any drug that can beat those prevention odds.

The Cancer-Busting Power of Crunchy Veggies 

Several studies have confirmed that certain compounds, called isothiocyanates, in cruciferous vegetables have distinct anti-cancer activity.

Broccoli and even more so, broccoli sprouts, contain the highest amounts of isothiocyanates. Other vegetables containing isothiocyanate include: 

• brussel sprouts
• cauliflower
• cabbage
• arugula
• watercress
• horseradish

The isothiocyanate in these vegetables sparks hundreds of genetic changes, activating some genes that fight cancer and switch off others that fuel tumors.

Said lead author Olga Azarenko: 

“Breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, can be protected against by eating cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and near relatives of cabbage such as broccoli and cauliflower.”

As stated in this latest study, one particular isothiocyanate compound called sulforaphane (SFN) has been shown to reduce the incidence and rate of chemically induced mammary tumors in animals. It also inhibits the growth of cultured human breast cancer cells, leading to cell death.

Other studies have confirmed the protective benefits of these vegetables for other types of cancer as well, such as:

• Bladder cancer – Researchers found that the higher the intake of cruciferous vegetables, the lower the risk of bladder cancer in men
• Lung cancer – Researchers found that men with detectable amounts of isothiocyanates in their bodies had a 36 percent lower chance of developing lung cancer over 10 years
• Prostate cancer – This study, published in PLoS ONE in 2008, discovered that just a few additional portions of broccoli each week could protect men from prostate cancer

I have long touted the cancer busting power of broccoli and actually posted my first article on it 11 years ago.

Back then, animal studies had shown that glucoraphanin — a precursor to sulforaphane – boosts cell enzymes that protect against molecular damage from cancer-causing chemicals. Sulforaphane had also been shown to mobilize natural cancer protection resources, reducing the risk of malignancy.

Now these most recent studies have been able to validate the actions of sulforaphane in humans as well.

The Special Power of Broccoli

Broccoli (as compared to other cruciferous vegetables) has a particularly powerful type of sulforaphane, which researchers believe gives broccoli its particular cancer-fighting properties.

It appears that broccoli contains the necessary ingredients to switch ON genes that prevent cancer development, and switch OFF other ones that help it spread, effectively delivering a double dose of protective action.

The power of food in normalizing chronic disease and helping you achieve optimal health is quite profound and one of the reasons that I chose a career of natural health.

How Many Vegetables Do You Have to Eat to Reap These Benefits?

Previous studies have indicated that people who consume more than one portion of cruciferous vegetables per week are at lower risk of prostate cancer. In the PLoS study mentioned earlier, the participants ate four extra servings of broccoli per week for one year.

The researchers collected tissue samples over the course of the study and found that the men who ate broccoli showed hundreds of beneficial changes in genes known to play a role in fighting cancer!

That’s pretty impressive. What’s even more impressive is the fact that you don’t have to make that drastic of a change to reap the benefits. After all, one serving of broccoli equates to about two spears. So we’re only talking approximately 10 spears a week, folks. That’s it!

Is Broccoli the Right Choice for You?

While I believe foods, especially vegetables, are a far smarter choice to treat serious health challenges like cancer than using most drugs, all foods may still not be the right choice for you. And even though vegetables are one of the healthiest food categories on the planet, not all vegetables are beneficial for everyone.

This is where a deep appreciation of nutritional typing will assist you in selecting the best vegetables for you.

One of the most serious mistakes is for a protein type to consume many dark green vegetables. This tends to over-alkaline your system and worsens rather than improves your health if you’re a protein type. This is despite the many beneficial phytonutrients that are present.  I am very familiar with this mistake as it’s one that I made prior to understanding nutritional typing.

However, other cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, which happen to be beneficial for protein types, can also have a similar effect.

I want you to be aware of just how important it is to understand your body at a deeper level, because if you are a protein type and were to eat broccoli, the other effects of broccoli might push your metabolic biochemistry in the wrong direction and thus override its benefits.

I also want to mention that small quantities of fresh broccoli sprouts contain as much cancer protection as larger amounts of the mature broccoli, according to previous research at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 5 grams (0.17 ounces) of sprouts contain concentrations of the compound glucoraphanin (a precursor to sulforaphane) equal to that found in 150 grams (5.2 ounces) of mature broccoli! The sprouts are eaten raw, usually as an addition to salad, and are a great way to get lots of cancer-protecting nutrients into your diet.

More Guidelines to Help Avoid and Treat Common Cancers

As I am now in Hawaii for the winter, I want to remind you of perhaps the most powerful cancer-prevention method available to all: sunshine!

Lately I’ve written extensively about the phenomenal health benefits of vitamin D from appropriate sun exposure, and cancer prevention is heavily featured. For a recap, or to continue your investigation on this topic, please review my recently updated Vitamin D Resource page.

I also created a one-hour video lecture to clear up the confusion about this essential nutrient. If you have not seen it yet, I recommend you set aside some time to watch it. In it I’ve distilled much of the most recent research findings – and believe me, there’s a lot! – so that you can get a comprehensive overview in the shortest amount of time.

Other recommendations for how to avoid and treat common forms of cancer include:

1.  
   1. Control your insulin levels. Make certain that you limit your intake of processed foods.
   2. Get appropriate exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.
   3. Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats such as krill oil or fish oil, and reduce your intake of omega-6 oils.
   4. Eliminate sugar as much as possible as it’s been shown again and again that sugar feeds cancer.
   5. Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. My favorite tool, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.
   6. Get enough high-quality sleep.
   7. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins and sources of heavy metals.
   8. Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them.