Published Monday, February 27th, 2012

 by Guest Contributor Chef Susan Teton

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“Well, a little is OK, isn’t it?” said the Mom of a 2 year old at a recent appointment with her new nutritionist. The nutritionist, warning her of the dangers of highly processed foods, chemicals and sugar, responded by saying, “the answer to that question would depend on what you and your daughter eat a lot of.”

As you likely already know, health professionals call for three basic culinary guidelines.

If followed they will likely make a significant impact on a family’s mental, physical and emotional health.

1. Take refined sugar out. Put natural sugars in.

2. Take bad fats out. Put good fats in.

3. Put probiotic rich foods in.

Simple Solutions to Implement These Guidelines With Your Kids…

It may seem daunting. Really now, whose child is going to chose a simple apple over a delicious bowl of ice cream? And, where do I find good fats?

The secret to amazing desserts, snacks and mini meals

The answer is to include nature’s simplest food sources, fresh and dried fruits, nuts and seeds. These foods combined are the secret to amazing desserts, snacks and mini meals.  Nuts and seeds hold all the “good fats” often referred to as “Essential Fatty Acids”. They are called ‘Essential’ because our cells must have them for proper cell function which includes brain function. But a bag of nuts and seeds it rarely tempting, especially for children. It’s easier to choose a delicious donut that’s filled with harmful fats and chemicals. But there is a way to make these simple foods appealing to all the family.

Tap into the magic of soaking nuts and seeds

The magic happens when you soak the nuts and seeds, and then blend them with fresh fruits (frozen if you like), and dried fruits like dates and raisins to sweeten.  Instantly you have a dish similar to ice cream in sweetness and texture, and rich with Essential Fats, fiber and antioxidants. Children love the taste and fill themselves quickly. These natural foods are not addictive like the refined sugars and hydrogenated fats, so children will likely be satisfied and not overeat.

Make food fun, simple and healthy

Another way to combine fruit and nuts, and get the same essence of a rich dessert, is to spread a banana (or apple) with nut butters such as almond. It’s great for lunch boxes or a road trip snack. Topping with ground flax seeds and/or walnuts, which are high in the Omega 3’s too.

If kids are not eating a lot of raw nuts and seeds, (or fatty fish) then taking an EFA supplement like flax oil may help. Although the right food supplement can certainly help a diet devoid of essential nutrients, it should not be used as a replacement for nourishing food.

A fun recipe video on how to make “nut cream berries”

About the Author

Susan Teton Campbell, a food professional with over twenty years experience co-authored the Healthy School Lunch Action Guide, winning endorsements from USDA, California State Child and Nutrition Department and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Her new six part DVD series called Essential Cuisine focuses on a healthy blend of Raw, Cooked and Cultured Foods.  You can see a preview video of this DVD series by clicking here.

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Published Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

 by Alex Ortner
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Over the last few decades the health of the nation and many other western nations has been on a dramatic decline.  Obviously there are factors such as the rise in processed foods that simply weren’t around 50/60 years ago and ‘growing your own’ took a big downturn too. Eating out is big business these days with a multitude of choices that are affordable for most peoples’ pockets at the bottom end of the quality spectrum.  Of course, there are many more factors. Here are some key ones that I see…

Lack of Social Contact

The first one you may be surprised about is social contact. Gone are the days when we lived close to our family, in a town where we grew up with all our friends around us and a real sense of community.  Studies show that the more social connections a person has the more positive that person will be, the better their health – physical and mental.  They are also likely to be ill less and live longer. Friends are often a lifesaver – literally! Loneliness could considerably increase the risk of death from stroke and heart disease.

Do you eat a lot of sugary foods? When you reward yourself with sugary food or chocolate it releases dopamine into your brain same as when you has positive social interactions. Maybe this explains the popularity of social media sites!

Drinks

Water was the preferred drink 50 years ago.  Not many calories there. These days roughly between 14% of our caloric intake is from soda.  Even processed fruit juices, often thought to be the healthy alternatives, are calorie and sugar laden. On average, for those who drink fruit juices instead of soda, it accounts for roughly 11% of their daily caloric intake.  The problem is that these drinks don’t affect the amount of food we eat so those extra calories are piled on top of the calorie intake from food.

Fat

Many unhealthy fats exploded onto the market in the 70’s and 80’s  – all highly processed in a way that destroys the oils molecules. According to Udo Eramus, author of ‘Fats that heal, Fats that kill’ these oils are ‘RBDed’ – which is refined, bleached and deodorized after being degummed so that they become colorless, odorless and tasteless. Sounds great doesn’t it!? The valuable ingredients are removed, namely, phytosterols, chlorophyll, flavor molecules, color molecules, lecithin.

In addition to this, the changed molecules are highly toxic and have the ability to alter your cells biochemistry and affect your genes – wow! Avoid safflower and corn oil and stick to oils that are unrefined.  If they do not say unrefined on the bottle then they are processed.  Do not cook with refined oils as it will be damaged. If you cook with oil, use a limited amount of coconut oil.

Animal protein

Meat is now considerably cheaper compared with 50 years ago when it was, in real terms 5 times higher than it is now, and consumption has soared. We are consuming more saturated fat, hard fat meats and dairy products than we were even 10 or 20 years ago. Americans eat on average, 4lbs of meat a week.

Although we believe that early humans ate meat this is not likely true – we were like other apes, herbivores, and the long length of our intestine correlate with other herbivores. As a result we tend to be healthier if we stick with a plant-based diet.

Red meat, especially processed meat, is linked to chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.  The over use of antibiotics in animals has become a serious risk to human health – even those who don’t eat meat are at risk as antibiotics get into the soil and water which affects everyone’s drinking water.

If you are going to eat meat, make sure it is grass-fed, free-range, pasture-raised and/or organic.

The situation we have now is that the people who were hungry and malnourished years ago, now have their bellies filled but with cheap food that is making them sick. Childhood diabetes is on the rise witch was unheard of 20 or 30 years ago.

So what’s the answer?

Here are just a few things that could help.  After you read them, make sure to give your opinion in the comments below.

-Cut advertising and promotion on all unhealthy foods. Promoting fast foods on sports clothes and in sports stadium should be stopped.

-We need to acknowledge that the portion sizes people typically eat are far too big. Restaurants typically have very large portion sizes.  The super sizing has got totally out of hand! 

-There should be subsidies on fruit and vegetables, especially organic, to shift the pricing downwards and also on organic.

-Help for lower income groups needs to be put in place to make food affordable, or as I said above, make the healthy food affordable in the first place so that they don’t need more money to eat healthy.

Something drastic has to be done before the cost of healthcare kills economies.

What else do you think should be done?  I’ve only listed a few of my ideas here.  I want to leave the rest for you.    Post your comments below. 

To your health,

Alex Ortner

Published Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

 by Alex Ortner
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Quality sleep is probably one of the most neglected topics when it comes to health and living free of disease.  And as somebody who is the father of two boys of age 1 and nearly 3…I know all too well how sleep deprivation can effect your health (as does my wife). 

Sleep deprivation makes it almost impossible to keep your immune system up and has a huge effect on your ability to think as well as how you feel and look. It even effects your ability to maintain a healthy weight.

Learning the Importance of Sleep on Health the Hard Way…

Unfortunately my wife and I realized (and continue to realize) just how much of an effect lack of sleep can have on you.  I’m sure many parents will relate to this…

Over the last 6 months my family has gone through a barrage of colds, coughs and other common illnesses.  Why…because our 2 1/2 year old started school, a breeding ground for spreading these common illnesses. 

Now over the last 10 years my wife and I have rarely ever been sick.  We’ve always believed that if you eat right, exercise and take care of yourself emotionally that you won’t likely catch these common illnesses, regardless of what you’re exposed to.

And that always seemed to work…until we had kids.    The tough part is that when your kids get sick, which is typical and expected of young kids as they’re building their immune systems, they keep you up all night.  And when they keep you up all night, you don’t sleep, your immune system weakens, and you become much more susceptible to getting sick, regardless of how well you’re eating.

The Statistics…

In this busy society we live in it’s very common for people to miss out on getting a full nights sleep.  In fact, roughly 40% of all Americans get less than 7 hours of sleep on weekday nights.  If you’re a part of the 40% this may be taking a serious toll on your health.  The effects of sleep deprivation are pretty alarming…

-An increased likelihood of developing diabetes. A  1999 study showed that after only six days on only four hours of sleep, healthy volunteers would fall into a pre-diabetic state!

-An increased likelihood of developing hypertension.  Sleep also gives the heart a chance to slow down, and those who get less than six hours a night have as much as a 66 per cent greater prevalence of hypertension.

-An increased risk of cancer because it alters the balance of hormones in your body.

-An increased mortality rate: The largest study of sleep duration and mortality followed over one million participants for six years. Those who slept about seven hours had the highest survival rate, and those who slept less than 4.5 hours had the worst. Nine hours of sleep or more each night was also associated with a higher mortality risk.  The recommended amount of sleep is 8 hours of sleep per night.

-And that’s just the icing on the cake…

The Effects on Weight…

When you get sufficient sleep you’re more inclined to exercise.  If you’ve ever woken up after too little sleep, exercising likely wasn’t the most appealing thing for you.     Even if you found the motivation to exercise when you were tired you likely weren’t able to perform at your best.

When you’re tired you also tend to crave foods that will give you a rush of energy and these tend to be sugar or caffeine based.  The last thing you want when you’re trying to lose weight is sugar! 

Getting too little sleep also impacts your levels of stress and thyroid hormones and this can affect your memory, metabolism and immune system. This leads to weight gain because you produce less leptin which tells your body to stop eating and also increases ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger.

Most of your growth hormone secretion occurs during Phase 4 and REM sleep. These are the phases that are most disrupted by sleep deprivation. This means that you will not be able to burn body fat or lose weight unless you have enough sleep and growth hormone.

Tips for Better Sleep (and Better Health)

Remember that sleep deprivation is cumulative. A little lost sleep over a period of time will still affect you.  And unfortunately you can’t make up for a chronic lack of sleep at the weekends or on holiday – it doesn’t work like that (although you will feel recharged if you can find the time to get some extra hours!)

Power naps are also not the answer either although they do help.  Whenever possible, having 30 minutes or less can help you feel refreshed.

Seven hours sleep on average is about right for most people but we are all different. You are likely to fall between 7 – 9 hours a night. Listen to your body.  Here are some additional tips:

• Have a set bedtime and waking up time each day – even the weekends.
• Eat at least 3 hours before you go to bed.
• Have your protein at supper time as protein will give your body what it needs to produce serotonin and melatonin
• Avoid TV, computers and phones etc an hour before bedtime.
• Try to get to sleep before 11pm to allow your body to recharge.
• If you have difficulty getting to sleep, try tapping…it works!
• Ensure your room is less than 70 degrees and consider leaving a window open slightly (if possible depending on outside temperature).
• Avoid liquids a couple of hours before bed so you do not have to get up in the night.
• Take a hot bath or shower that will relax you and as your body temperature drops afterwards it will signal to your body that it is bedtime.
• If you have things on your mind, write them down before bedtime.
• Exercise during the day, morning is best.
• Avoid alcohol as it will wake you early in the morning and keeps you from the deep stages of sleep.
• Avoid caffeine.
• Sleep in total darkness and expose yourself to bright light in the daytime.
• Take a melatonin supplement if needed.

If you have ongoing sleep problems, see your doctor and get checked for any health problems.

I hope this helps. 

To your health,

Alex Ortner

 by Alex Ortner
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By this time in the New Year most people have either given up on their new years resolution to lose weight or you are still struggling to get into the groove and change their eating and exercising habits.  If you’re in either of these categories, hopefully the below tips will help.

I have written out  20 helpful tips that you can incorporate into your everyday life to help you lose weight and keep it off.

See how many of the above tips you can easily incorporate into your daily routine. Take the process slowly.  The aim is to change your habits not starve yourself for a few weeks or months and go back to old habits.

If you repeat an action enough times it will become a habit so keep the faith and don’t give up!

Have you used a Raw Food Diet for Fat Loss?  If so, please share your story and any tips you’ve learned from your experience below. 

To your health,

Alex Ortner

 by Alex Ortner
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As you have no doubt heard by now Paula Deen, ‘The Butter Queen’, the belle of southern cooking, has Type 2 diabetes.  And most likely, you will not be at all surprised given the type of food Paula favors (especially if you have even a basic understanding of the raw food lifestyle).

Paula actually believes the type of food she promotes is ok to eat on a regular basis!  She says ‘practice moderation’.  The thing I find funny about this term “moderation” is that NOBODY ever defines it.  If you have diabetes or envision a long, healthy, disease free life for yourself and your family where does that moderation line get drawn?

My guess is that her followers are likely to understand that to be three or four times a week.  If you’ve actually seen any of her recipes…you probably already know that eating her food regularly is asking for diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

The Big Controversy

But the big controversy about her coming out and saying that she has diabetes is the timing of it.  She found out she had diabetes 3 years ago!

As a professional cook and TV expert who was teaching people how to prepare their meals she had an ethical and moral responsibility to take care of her followers, be honest with them, and tell them that she had diabetes.

Someone with a following the size of hers (Facebook over 1.5 million and nearly 700,000 on Twitter plus the reach of her TV shows and books.) could have helped countless people over 3 years.  Who knows how many people out there have health issues because they followed her recipes.

Paula’s Greed

Paula, of course, hid this information because of the effect that it could have on her business.  It wasn’t until after she had become a paid spokesperson for the diabetes drug she uses that she finally decided to come out about it.

I was watching videos about her all over TV and the web yesterday and the biggest thing that I’ve gotten a kick out of has been her response to allegations that she has come out with it because she’s getting paid as a spokesperson….

She keeps responding with “I have to work just like you do” to whoever asks the question.  She makes it seem like she wouldn’t be able to pay the bills if she wasn’t getting the money from the drug company…ridiculous!

While I’m all for making as much money as you desire by providing value to other people, and celebrity endorsements are a legitimate way to make money while promoting a product you believe in, Paula Deen’s handling of her situation has been, to put it mildly, unscrupulous.

She reportedly has earned over $30 million dollars in her career, and $4.5 million last year alone!  This is a person who could have easily taken the high morale ground or at least stayed impartial. She obviously had not the slightest concern for the health and wellbeing of her numerous followers, and just went for the money, regardless of the consequences to others.

Anthony Bourdain, American chef, author and television personality (who I’ve always enjoyed watching on tv), is not a fan of Deen’s cooking. He once told TV Guide she was “the worst, most dangerous person in America.” This week in response to her news, he tweeted “Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.” Very funny!

Continuing on about why she’s taken so long to come out about her diabetes… Paula has said that she took three years “to figure things out in her own head,” also saying that she didn’t come out about it sooner because “I had nothing to give.”  Most people with a diagnosis like this would maybe take 3 weeks to figure it out, not three years.

What she meant to say was that she didn’t have anything to give that would make her money.  I could have told her what to give 3 years ago…give moral support to those out there who are suffering with diabetes, give healthy recipes to help people get better, give money to school systems that need it to build healthier lunch programs.  Wow…that took me all of 20 seconds to think of things to give.  She couldn’t figure something out in 3 years! 

Paula’s “Puzzled” About Diabetes…

When asked if her high-fat recipes can lead to diabetes, she said, “That is part of the puzzle.” As we clearly know from the work we do here at rawfor30days.com, it’s simple, and not at all puzzling.  If she just watched the ‘Simply Raw’ film and followed the raw food diet explained in Dr. Gabriel Cousen’s book “There is a Cure for Diabetes” she would reversed her Type 2 diabetes easily.

Paula has also launched a new website called “Diabetes in a New Light”.  On the site she makes it seem like she wants to teach you healthier recipes but when you go to sign up it asks you “May we have your permission to call you and review the benefits of Novo Nordisk free patient support programs?”  Novo Nordisk is the drug company she’s being paid by!  The entire site is just a scam to get the contact information from diabetics so that they can get them to use diabetes drugs, rather than trying to manage or reverse their diabetes through nutrition.

Paula has also come out saying she has pledged a portion of her earnings to the American Diabetes Association (although the ADA are not aware of this) but she doesn’t at any time say what percentage or how much that is.

When our company donates money to charities we make it very clear exactly how much we’re donating.  We’ve donated as much as 20% of our income from sales promotions to charities.  For all we know she could be donating less than 1%!

Paula Deen is another example of people in power selling out to the drug companies.  The biggest sell outs we have all sit in Washington D.C., where they pass laws and legislation that allows drug companies to earn massive profits while putting the health of Americans at risk.

Now I’m not against drugs.  The truth is they absolutely have an important role in our healthcare system.  There are drugs that save the lives of countless Americans every day.  However, in my estimation, drugs cost more lives than they save because of their over use.  We could most likely wipe out 95% of all drug use if people were to change their eating habits and if doctors actually gave their patients good information (but for the most part they don’t know it themselves in the first place).

Currently struggling to be seen as credible corporate citizens, the pharmaceutical industry is approaching many celebrities for endorsement and lining their pockets in return. The popularity of celebrities allows Big Pharma to divert public attention to their charitable efforts rather than the effects their products are having on the public.

Other Sell Out Celebrities

Elliot Yamin, a singer who finished 3rd in one of the American Idol contests, is sponsored by Eli Lilly, the 10th largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

Brooke Shields endorses Latisse, an eyelash-growing drug that has risks of cornea infections.

Barry Manilow endorses the very controversial drug Multaq used for heart arrhythmia.  And the list goes on…

Many of these celebrities who support Big Pharma simply are not questioning  the messages they are promoting.

Remember the “Stand Up To Cancer” telethon? Many top names in Hollywood, from Denzel Washington and George Clooney to Cindy Crawford and Katie Couric focused on raising more money for the failing cancer industry, but who stood up and talked about anti cancer nutrients like Vitamin D and selenium that can cut cancer rates by over 70%? All this is to raise money for industry that has been on the ’brink of a breakthrough’ for over 40 years!

Celebrities Managing Diabetes with Diet

To be fair there are some celebrities who have taken a positive stance but unfortunately we don’t hear about them as often…

Mike Huckabee , former Arkansas governor, had Type 2 diabetes and upgraded his diet, started running, shed 110lbs, moved his BMI from obese to normal and reversed type 2 diabetes. He wrote a book about his transformation and promotes healthy living starting in childhood, “Quit Digging Your Grave With A Knife and Fork.” This 12-stop program is a no-nonsense approach to managing one’s health through lifestyle change rather than a simple diet and exercise plan.

Halle Berry has ‘weaned herself off insulin’ by diet and exercise but the medical profession was in uproar over it, claiming she was ‘confused or misdiagnosed’!  Cured? Impossible they said! (See the short clip with Halle that I found on youtube below)

Randy Jackson, American Idol judge, has had Type 2 since 2001 when he was obese.  Diabetes ran in his family and he is African American, a group more likely to develop diabetes.  He has had gastric bypass surgery (which I’m not a fan of), lost 100lbs, made exercise a staple of his life – walking, treadmill and yoga. He’s even vegan!

Overall though, the drug industry has huge power over our society at all levels.  They have a grip on it that is literally killing people and bankrupting our economy.

And unfortunately Paula Deen is just the most recent person to be bought out by the drug industry.

Luckily though there are people and companies standing up to improve the health of Americans, mostly through the web (which is why the web censoring bill in congress that everyone has been talking about could be catastrophic).

But when it comes to Paula Deen…she is “puzzled” over diabetes.  I think that all you have to do is take a look at one of Paula’s most popular dishes to the right and you’ll see what’s causing such rampant diabetes in America.  Paula clearly hasn’t seen the light yet.  In the meantime…I’m going to go make myself a green salad. 

To your health,

Alex Ortner

 by Alex Ortner
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Vitamin B12 is one of 8 B complex vitamins.  It is found in animal products such as meat, eggs, milk and fish. Obviously a problem if you are vegetarian or vegan!

B12 is involved in the metabolism of every cell in the body and deficiencies are a bit of a hidden epidemic in society.

Deficiencies are associated with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, depression, bipolar disease.

If you take drugs for diabetes, stomach acid, ulcers, blood pressure, birth control or cholesterol you are likely to be deficient too.

Many vegans and vegetarians opt to use blue-green algae to increase their B12 levels but these cannot be used effectively by the body. The best source of vitamin B12 in nature is spirulina.  The only problem with using spirulina for your B-12 is that it is hard to assimilate enough B12 from this (although I still recommend taking Spirulina).

B12 is a large molecule compared to other vitamins and needs an enzyme called intrinsic factor to metabolize in your body. As you age you lose the ability to secret hydrochloric acid that helps to release Vitamin B12 from your food. To further exacerbate the problem it is hard to absorb through the stomach so even if you are eating foods or taking supplements that are rich in Vitamin B12 it is unlikely that you are getting enough. You would only absorb around 1% at best from a capsule supplement dose.

This is a vitamin that is known to supply us with energy but it is also good for the formation of your red blood cells and the support of your immune system. It also helps your body produce melatonin that helps you sleep so if you have difficulty sleeping you may benefit from more B12.

Other deficiency symptoms according to Dr. Gabriel Cousens, include ‘diarrhea, fever, infertility, sore tongue, enlargement of the mucous membranes of the mouth, vagina and stomach, macrocytic anemia and low white blood cells and platelet count.’ It may also be a factor in babies who show ‘failure to thrive’.  Lack of B12 can lead to children being neurologically impaired because they need B12 for the development of their neurological and hematological systems.  There are three reported cases of children dying of B12 deficiency so it’s pretty important.

Studies show that about 80% of vegans or live fooders become B12 deficient and 39% of meat-eaters are B12 deficient.  If you suspect you are deficient then get tested.  The gold standard test is a methylmalonic acid test. Standard tests may show you false results.

If you are looking for ways to increase your energy, improve your sleep, you suspect you have a deficiency or you follow a raw food or vegetarian diet it may be beneficial for you to take a B12 spray supplement.  The most effective delivery system is through microscopic droplets of B12 that come in a fine mist that gets sprayed into the mouth.

Personally both I and all of my family members take a B-12 spray called “B-12 Energy Booster” by Dr. Mercola (shown in the picture to the right).  You can learn more about it by clicking here.  There are a number of B-12 sprays available but I take this one because it seems to have a reasonable price and because I trust Dr. Mercola as the source.

To your health,

Alex Ortner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12_deficiency
http://www.naturalnews.com/033596_vitamin_B12_nutrients.html
http://www.drmercola.biz/vitamin-b12/how-to-get-optimal-levels-of-vitamin-b12/

 by Alex Ortner
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When it comes to eating out or eating with friends, living the raw food lifestyle can be challenging.  You plan and prepare your healthy meals every day and then all of the sudden… there is a social event on your calendar.  You know that there will be unhealthy food at the event…so what do you do?!

It is possible to enjoy food when you go socialize, it just takes a bit of planning and some willpower. And lets face it…the main idea behind going out is meeting and interacting with friends, not the food itself, right?!

And your “special” diet isn’t as unusual as you may think.  Many people these days have allergies and special diets so you will not be that different!

How difficult it becomes for you will depend on how high a percentage of raw food you have in your diet.  If you’re a 100% raw foodist, you’ll likely have a much tougher time than somebody who is doing 50% to 80% raw.

Here are 10 tips for stress free socializing on a raw food diet…..

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Tip #1 –If you’re doing the 100% raw food diet (whether it’s a permanent eating habit or you’re just doing a cleanse) it would be advisable to notify your host in advance. Most hosts are more than willing to accommodate and make sure to have food that you can enjoy.

Perhaps offer to bring something to add to the meal or ask if they could make sure there is plenty of salad or raw veggies for you. And worst case, just ask if you can bring your own food because you’d like to make it easier for them.

If you are not 100% raw but rather something in the 50% to 90% range then life is a lot easier. Simply eat raw during the day and leave your ‘allocation’ of cooked food for the event.

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Tip #2 – Eat before you go out so that you are not starving when you get there and tempted to eat something you may regret later.  Making healthy decisions is much easier on a full stomach.  You’ll find that this alone can help with 90% of the battle.

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Tip #3 – Offer to bring a dessert you have made.  Everyone in my experience, enjoys raw desserts, and people do not even consider whether the dish is raw or cooked. It can spark of conversations about healthy eating too!  And generally speaking…all of the raw desserts I have ever brought to a party have been the favorite desserts of the night!

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Tip #4 – Decide before you go out what you will eat and what you won’t. For example, decide not to eat dessert, or decide not to combine protein and carbohydrates.

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Tip #5 – If you are choosing to eat fish or meat as part of your cooked percentage then remember to ask if it is grass fed beef or wild fish.  If it’s not…I highly recommend avoiding it altogether.  Here’s an example of a non-confrontational way to ask…

You: “That beef looks delicious.  Where did you get it?”
Them: “I bought it at Big Y, the grocery store just down the street”
You: “It looks great.  Is it a special kind of beef like wild fed or organic?”
Them: “I don’t know.  I think it’s a regular piece.”
You: “Ok, thanks.”

When you approach the questions with compliments in them you’re able to ask without seeming like you’re insulting them or their food.  Once you have the answers you want you can choose to eat it or not to eat it.  And remember that any question comes across much better with a smile on your face.  ☺

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Tip #6 – Another important thing to ask is what they cooked the food in.  Again here you can use the approach of being curious simply because it looks good.  When you compliment them they’ll be excited to tell you all about it.  Try to avoid foods that are cooked with dairy products.  ☺

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Tip #7 – Ask if the party will have a sit down meal or just a buffet.  Parties can be a lot easier with the buffet style of eating as it allows you to pick and choose rather than be faced with a meal in front of you that you feel you should eat out of politeness.  If it’s going to be sit down, make sure to communicate your eating habits beforehand with the host.

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Tip #8 – If you’re cleansing or eating a very strict raw diet then you’ll want to avoid alcohol, which  can be a stumbling block.  If you are driving then you have a cast iron excuse not to drink.

One idea is to take something with you like a carafe of a non-alcoholic cocktail you have made yourself which is always a welcome gift.  Try freshly squeezed lemon, with puree of raspberries, a few drops of stevia or other plant based sweetener such as coconut palm sugar or agave topped up with sparkling water.  Add some mint leaves and put in a large glass jug and it looks amazing!

If there are cocktails just serve yourself some bubbly water in a cocktail glass with a  lemon or lime and nobody will know the difference (I’ve used that trick LOTS of times!).  ☺

Or stick to plain water and add some lemon to make it more alkaline.

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Tip #9 – Remember to monitor how you’re feeling.  Stress plays a big role in our health.  If you’re having a lot of trouble with the food then you’re not likely to have fun or be fun to be around.  If you’re stressing about the food, go to the bathroom and try something like EFT (tapping)  to get your cravings under control, then rejoin the party.

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Tip #10 – Bring a friend.  See if there’s a friend who eats like you do who can go with you.  Its easier to eat well when you have a peer who’s helping  you and making you feel like you’re doing the right thing.  It’s easier to succumb to bad eating when you’re the only one that knows it’s not good for you.  ☺

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If you have comments or questions on the above or tips you’d like to share with others that you’ve used for staying healthy while socializing please share them below.  And if you enjoyed the article please hit the Facebook “Like” button to the right.  ☺

To your health,

Alex Ortner

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 by Alex Ortner
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When you hear about “greens,” you probably think of things on a farm – kale, broccoli, peas, etc. They are the most common to find in stores and are the most visible. Well today I’d like to share with you and in-depth look at one of the best greens for you, which isn’t found on standing farms: kelp.

What is kelp?

Kelp is a large seaweed. There are about thirty different kinds of it. Kelp is very nutritional, and is technically classified as an algae. It grows in shallow oceans, creating underwater forests. Some kinds of kelp grow as fast as half a meter a day, and can reach as long as 30 to 80 meters (that’s about 260 feet). As you can see on this picture, it gets huge!

Kelp is used today all over the world. In Japan, Kombu (a species of kelp) is commonly used for flavoring broths and stews. It’s used as a vegetable, garnish, and primary ingredient for many snacks. In the U.S. and Europe, kelp is served in many seafood restaurants, and in larger Asia it is used for it’s many health benefits. I know people from every health community that enjoy kelp.

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How YOU can use it, and what it can do for you…

First of all, if you don’t know already, kelp is very tasty. It has a salty flavor which is a nice addition if you’re eating raw. I find kelp flakes taste great as a seasoning and love them on my salads. The seaweed has a lot of minerals, vitamins, trace elements and amino acids.

Minerals such as iodine are vital in keeping your thyroid working. That controls your metabolism, energy, and growth in your body. The iodine also acts as an antibody to kill germs and infections. It keeps you strong. As kelp increases your metabolism it also balances your blood lipid concentrations. That’s especially good news if you’re overweight.

Kelp can aid you if you have osteoporosis, and has great anti-aging effects as you get older. If you’re looking to keep your appearance up, it helps nail growth and prevents hair loss.

Studies have been done that suggest kelp stems may have anticancer effects, preventing tumors from growing.

If you’re a woman, especially if you’re pregnant, kelp can serve as a great supplement for normalizing your glands and hormones. The iron, potassium and calcium makes it good for you if you’re a woman at any age.

The bottom line is that kelp is an amazing green, and it tastes great too! If you’ve never tried kelp before, make sure to try it when you get the chance. If you’ve already tried it, then keep it up!

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Where you can get it…

You can purchase kelp in most local health foods stores.  If you’d like to get a greater variety of products with kelp  and possible get it at cheaper prices I would look online.  The place where I personally buy kelp is at the Raw Food World Store.

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We are exposed to more toxins today than people use to experience in an entire lifetime. Chemicals, pollution, processed foods, and high levels of stress build up in the body over time. The digestive system and colon are dangerously affected by toxic overload which hinders all of our organs and glands and weakens the immune system. This is the reason that cleansing the body on a regular basis is so important.

A few of the signs your body is in desperate need of internal cleaning and detoxification include disease, fatigue, headaches, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, menstrual problems, skin problems, insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome.

Problems like asthma, food allergies, depression, excess weight, bad breath and general aches and pains are a sign that the colon is toxic. When the colon is impacted and backed up it affects every organ in the body. This is why colon cleansing is so necessary to good health.

Serious health issues like cancer, diabetes and heart disease are manifested in part because of a toxic, dirty impacted colon, blood and lymphatic system. Years of eating animal and dairy products and food made with flour and water have created a layer of mucoid plaque which is so thick that it forms a barrier which inhibits your body from assimilating good nutrition. When you mix flour and water together you create glue. When you eat glue it sticks to the intestines and colon. Over time it becomes hard as a rock and even takes on the shape of the colon. Pasta, cake, cookies and bread are just a few of the foods which create this hardened mucoid plaque on the colon walls.

Meat rots and putrefies in the intestines creating uric acid, gas, bloating and becoming a breeding ground for worms and parasites. Dairy products make massive amounts of mucous and this clogs up the organs and slows down the digestion. Both meat and dairy are acidic which creates a highly acid body. You must bring back alkalinity if you want to bring back good health.

Change your diet to organic raw and living sprouted foods and eliminate animal products, sugar, chemicals, preservatives and processed dead food. You will give a powerful gift to your body. A clean, well functioning body will not manifest diseases.

Dark green leafy vegetables, celery, cucumbers, squash, sunflower sprouts, broccoli sprouts and mung bean sprouts are just a few of the many raw and living food vegetable choices that will help the body to cleanse and detoxify itself. Systematic colon cleansing with enemas and colonics will restore your body’s natural ability to heal every disease. Clean on the inside, means healthy on the outside.

Fennel Apple Slaw

1 head fennel
6 apples chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 scallions, minced
1 Tablespoons poppy seeds
4 dates (pitted)
1/2 cup lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. Himalayan salt crystals

Use all organic ingredients. Chop the fennel, apple, celery and scallions. Put the dates, lemon juice, olive oil, poppy seeds and salt in the Vita-Mix and blend for 15 seconds. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss until well coated.

Brenda Cobb is author of The Living Foods Lifestyle® and founder of The Living Foods Institute, an Educational Center and Therapy Spa in Atlanta offering Healthy Lifestyle Courses on Nutrition, Cleansing, Healing, Anti-Aging, Detoxification, Relaxation and Cleansing Therapies. For more information, call 404-524-4488 or
1-800-844-9876 and visit www.livingfoodsinstitute.com

Chia seeds are one of the most powerful and nutritious superfoods in the world. Chia seed is an excellent source of fiber, packed with antioxidants, full of protein, loaded with vitamins and minerals, and the richest known plant source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Everyone from children to senior citizens can benefit from the wonderful nutritional qualities of chia seeds.

Chia seeds have more omega-3 than Atlantic salmon,

more antioxidants than fresh blueberries, more fiber than bran flakes, five times the calcium of milk, two times the amount of potassium as bananas, three times more iron than spinach and more protein, fiber and calcium than flax seed. Adding just 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to your daily diet will give you approximately 7 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 205 milligrams of calcium, and a whopping 5 grams of omega-3. Chia seeds include phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, niacin and zinc.

Chia is an ancient superfood that is very similar to flax, but without the estrogen and phytoestrogen element. It is a great source of B vitamins including folic acid.

Chia has 3 to 10 times the oil concentration of most grains and 1 ½ to 2 times the protein concentration of other grains. The oils are the essential oils the body needs to help absorb the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Chia seeds are energizing and give a boost of energy that lasts, providing stamina and endurance. A single tablespoon could sustain Aztec warriors for an entire day. Chia seeds reduce cravings. Because chia seeds absorb so much water and have high soluble 
fiber levels, they help release natural, unrefined carbohydrate energy slowly into the bloodstream.

Chia seeds are easily digestible.

Unlike flax seed, chia seeds do not have to be ground up before you ingest them. The human body can easily digest chia seeds, and with about 7 grams of fiber per serving, they actually help digestion. Chia seeds are convenient and versatile. You can eat chia seeds straight from the bag, mix them with your favorite drink, add them to your cereal or salad, and just about anything else. Chia seeds last for years in the refrigerator.

Chia seeds do good things for the body, like keeping blood pressure and blood sugar under control. The omega-3 fatty acids in chia protect against inflammation and heart disease. Chia seeds come from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, a member of the mint family that grows in southern Mexico. In pre-Columbian times, chia seeds were a component of the Aztec and Mayan diets and the basic survival ration of Aztec warriors. They even played a role in religious ceremonies. Supposedly, 1 tablespoon of the seeds could sustain a person for 24 hours. The Aztecs also used chia medicinally to relieve joint pain and skin conditions. It was a major crop in central and southern Mexico well into the 16th century, but it was banned after the Spanish conquest because of its association with the Aztec 
”pagan” religion. Over the past few decades, commercial production has resumed.

Insects hate the chia plant, so it’s easy to find organic seeds.

Unlike flaxseed, chia seeds can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid and don’t require grinding. You can enjoy chia seeds’ nutlike flavor by sprinkling ground or whole chia seeds on cereal or salads, blend them in a smoothie, juice or water, or create healthy, delicious dehydrated crackers or cookies. Eat a handful of whole seeds as a snack or make your own chia smoothie.

Chia Seeds have many anti-aging properties. The seeds fight free radical damage. Aging happens when damaged cells are replicated. Chia antioxidants act to neutralize the free radicals that cause premature aging and flush out age-accelerating toxins. Chia seeds help a person regain youthful exuberance, skin elasticity, enhance hair, skin and nails, lubricate joints, reduce inflammation and muscle soreness and speed rejuvenation as well as lowering lactic acid buildup in muscles.

Chia provides 97% of its calories from high quality plant protein and lipids with very few calories from carbohydrates. The carbohydrate portion of Chia is predominantly insoluble fiber, which is beneficial to digestion in that it passes through the gastro-intestinal tract undigested resulting in a non-caloric effect to the body. Gram for gram, Chia is the highest source of protein, bar none.

Banana Coconut Chia Pudding

2 ripe bananas
1 cup fresh coconut water
2 Tbs. chia seeds

Grind the chia seeds in the Vita-Mix or other high speed blender. Add the bananas and coconut water and blend until creamy. Take the mixture out of the blender and allow it to thicken. Enjoy this nutritious, delicious and easy treat.

Brenda Cobb is author of The Living Foods Lifestyle® and founder of The Living Foods Institute, an Educational Center and Therapy Spa in Atlanta offering Healthy Lifestyle Courses on Nutrition, Cleansing, Healing, Anti-Aging, Detoxification, Relaxation and Cleansing Therapies. For more information, call 404-524-4488 or
1-800-844-9876 and visit www.livingfoodsinstitute.com