Documentaries

I recently saw two documentaries that reinforced my decision to abstain from the Standard American Diet (SAD) and continue choosing living foods. The films: Food Matters, and Breakthrough.

This is my second viewing of Food Matters. It basically talks about how the foods we eat make us sick.

Since World War II our food has undergone a huge change. Less often do we eat food that is grown naturally, freshly picked, and served with minimal preparation. Instead our foods are routinely fumigated by pesticides, fungicides, herbicides while bathed in a sea of man-made fertilizers. Once picked it travels long distances and sits on shelves before being purchased. Or it is processed into packaged items that contain an abundance of calories but few nutrients.

When we eat such foods, acid forms. All disease thrives in an acid medium. Sugar, processed carbohydrates, and all animal derivatives including meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products stimulate lots of acid in our bodies, unlike most vegetables and fruits that leave an alkaline ash.

Our bodies are designed to operate slightly alkaline. So when we consume acid forming foods, we tax our bodies to remain alkaline under the onslaught of acid waste. What does it do?

1. Stores excess acid in the muscles, which gives rise to fibromyalgia.
2. Creates plaque and cholesterol on arterial walls.
3. Produces adipose fat cells causing weight gain.
4. Causes blood to clot.
5. Stores extra water to help neutralize the acid (edema).
6. Induces hot flashes, sweating, and rashes in an effort to expel the acid.
7. Develops colds, and other immune responses to get rid of the excess acid.
8. Draws alkaline minerals like calcium from tissues, bones and teeth in an effort to neutralize the acidity (causing osteoporosis and receding gums).

When the body is unable to get rid of sufficient acid, decay begins to literally decompose the body. Yeast overgrowth, bacteria and parasites are not something a person catches, but something a person creates and invites into their body when they fail to maintain proper pH within the colon.

Because of our farming practices, most produce lacks the full range of minerals in the soil. If the plant doesn't absorb these minerals, obviously neither can we who consume the plants. Yet the medical industry warns us about the dangers of supplementation.

In the last 23 years there have been exactly 10 recorded deaths due to the intake of vitamins. In that same time period, the deaths due to taking properly prescribed medications is more than 250,000.

When we cook foods, the enzymes are changed. Rather than interpret the substance as nourishment, the body reacts to cooked food by seeing it as a foreign invader. Our immune system rushes to our rescue!

The good news is that if the majority of our diet is living foods, uncooked, unprocessed, full of life-giving vitality, then the immune system doesn't sound the alarm.

Breakthough is a documentary about a family that is raising its children on a diet that consists of living foods. I enjoyed this artistic, athletic, intelligent family as it boldly asserts their right to choose how to live (and how to eat). Several members of the extended family joined the nuclear group and ate raw. The results? lose of weight, gained vitality.

Check out these documentaries:
www.foodmatters.tv
www.thegardendiet.com

Viewing them may help you make the most important decision in your life: whether to age rapidly or not; whether to court illness or health.

Acid Waste; Acid Waist

Since drinking Kangen water I've begun to learn about acid waste. So many foods in the SAD (standard American diet) are acid forming: all animal products, refined, highly processed foods, and lots of other things including many nuts.

As if that weren't enough, our bodies generate acid when we're stressed, while exercising, and just plain living. We can't stop the creation of acid waste. However, the body must operate in a slightly alkaline environment. Each system prefers its own pH level. (pH is a measure of potential hydrogen and the scale runs from 0 to 14 with acid going from 0 to 6.99 and alkaline going from 7.01. Each whole number represents 10 times the amount of hydrogen.)

Because acid is a major challenge, the body does many things to maintain or buffer itself. It will steal minerals from our bones and teeth, which then leads to various conditions and illnesses. Probably the most common thing it does is store the acid waste in fat cells. This removes the offender from the vital organs and allows the body to continue to run.

I have struggled with being overweight my entire life (at least since age 4-5). Obviously I have a BIG issue with acid waste. So every time I've embarked on a weight loss program, I've reached a plateau that stops me from completely getting rid of excess body fat. Now I realize why. My body had to keep the cushion of body fat because it was storing acid waste. Of course, this meant that my actual waist was abounding in acid waste.

As a result of drinking Kangen water (my diet has gone unchanged and my exercise program has actually deteriorated -- I'm doing less workouts per week and less amount of time per session), I've lost 25 pounds. I'm delighted and pleased. Finally I have a solution to my long-term bug-a-boo: being overweight.

So what do you have to lose? Perhaps you might www.checkoutkangen.com/

It's Cold in Florida

Last Thursday I flew to Sarasota and then traveled south to Venice where I've been staying this week. If I were looking for cold weather, I could have remained in Boston where the temperatures are not much lower than where I am! It even snowed further north around Lakewood. Yikes.

I'm here to meet with the people who sponsored me into the Kangen water business. We've been working on creating a CD that tells how this water came to be. The story begins with the Hunza people. They have one of the longest life spans on the planet and enjoy robust health well into their 100s and beyond.

Years ago scientists trekked up the Himalaya mountains to verify what rumor spread: name that these men and women suffer little illness and enjoy longevity. Complete with electrocardiograms and other high tech equipment, the doctors validated the Hunza's extraordinary health. Other researchers investigated the factors responsible and concluded that they, like a few other select people across the world, drink glacial water that has distinct molecular structure and properties, which promote vitality.

Now the real work began, how to create water that had these same characteristics. The Russians were the first to succeed, but their equipment was cumbersome. Later the Japanese developed a machine that ionized regular tap water, thus making it possible for everyone to have access to this kind of water.

What's the big deal, you ask? Water is just water. No it isn't. Depending on the source water may be impure, contaminated with waste products, or lack the hexagonal rings that biological organisms prefer. It may be acidic as measured by pH levels, have insufficient oxygen, and it could also contribute free radicals and thus oxidize the body.

All these factors are what differentiate water, one from another.

One of the simplest things we can do to enhance our health is to drink hexagonal water that is alkaline and contains an abundance of anti-oxidants and stabilized oxygen. It's even more effective than changing diet, which is more of a challenge to people than switching religions!

Have you tested the water you've been drinking lately? If it comes from the tap, a filter or a bottle, chances are it's missing some key characteristics. Chances are it's pentagonal in shape, rather than hexagonal. Chances care it's highly acid (although tap water by law must read neutral, about 7.0 on the pH scale). Chances are it's full of free radicals and has a positive oxidation potential. Chances are it's lacking in minerals and the vital elements that our bodies need for good health.

It may be cold here, but I'm learning a lot.

A Healthy New Year

I invited people who attend raw food potluck events and those curious about raw food to come to my home January 1. About 10 people showed up and we feasted on some of the dishes I prepared as well as those people brought.

I made two kinds of salad, a chef salad with basil dressing and kale salad with sesame seed dressing. For the main course there were collard wraps filled with spinach cashew mayonaise surrounding carrots, cabbage, and pea sprouts. I also made marinated vegetables in a rich chili sauce. The veggies included eggplant, zucchini, carrot, celery, mushrooms, onion, and lentil sprouts. The sauce came from sun dried tomatoes plus garlic, onion, chili peppers, and seasonings.

For the occasion I made several kinds of flax crackers including an invention of yams, apple, coconut in orange juice with chia seeds. Sweet and yummy! I had also dehydrated banana bread, a simple recipe with 5 ingredients: banana, coconut, chia seeds, walnuts, and raisins. To one batch I added cinnamon. So delicious!

I also made several desserts. I made two versions of my carrot cake, one with pineapple and one without. Both were frosted with cashew/lemon icing. People also enjoyed a raspberry chocolate parfait with layers of chocolate (avocado plus cacao and agave) and frozen whipped raspberries. I sprinkled some cookie crumbs between layers.

The conversation was equally as tasty as the food. What a treat to meet these people and have a long leisurely talk about our experiences in seeking and enhancing our health.

May 2010 be a healthy year for you.