Research from the University of Minnesota found that rats fed for 135 days on an 80% cooked food diet resulted in an increase pancreatic weight of 20-30%.

This means that the pancreas is forced to work harder with a cooked food diet. “Although the body can manufacture enzymes, the more you use your enzyme potential, the faster it is going to run out..” wrote Dr. Edward Howell, who pioneered research in the benefits of food enzymes. A youth of 18 may produce amylase levels 30 times greater than those of an 85 year old person.

Some excellent food sources of enzymes are: papaya, pineapple and sprouted seeds. Science cannot duplicate enzymes because they are the stuff of life itself. Only raw food has functional “live” enzymes. Therefore the liver, pancreas, stomach and intestines must come to the rescue and furnish the requisite digestive enzymes to the individual nourished solely on a cooked food diet.

This extra activity can be detrimental to health and longevity because it continually taxes the reserve energy of our organs. Furthermore, cooked food passes through the digestive tract more slowly than raw food, tends to ferment, and throws poisons back into the body. Colon cancer is 2nd to lung cancer as a killer in America and is related, in various ways, to eating enzyme-deficient cooked food.

All raw foods contain exactly the right enzymes required to split every last molecule into the basic building blocks of metabolism: Amino acids (from protein) glucose (from complex carbs) and essential fatty acids (from unsaturated vegetable fats.)

This isn’t a post to say you should ONLY eat raw or living foods… just to try and incorporate more in your diet. Even once a day is a great treat for your body!

My husband, Adi Jaffe, is getting his PhD in Psychology at UCLA. His goal is to help people who are addicted to anything from gambling, to sex, to drugs and alcohol find healthier ways to cope with life. Therefore, we have a lot in common! Yoga and eating healthy food, in my opinion, are two of the greatest coping mechanism when dealing with life’s obstacles and greatest challenges. We are both dedicating our lives to helping others figure out the best way to navigate this ship we call life, both in our individual and unique ways.

A New Tool in Addiction Treatment

There are so many ways to treat addiction, and just like he states in a post he wrote, “different methods work for different people…if there’s a tool that can help, we need to put it into action.”

He’s also been working on a system of matching each person to a treatment facility that is the best possible “fit” for that individual. The person goes onto his website, and after answering a few questions, the system figures out what would be the best match for them. As he explains, “We’re currently testing a system that will use some basic, and some a bit more advanced, criteria to help direct addicts towards the right provider for them. Don’t have much money and working full-time? Then residential treatment should probably not be your first choice? Medicated for schizophrenia? You better stay away from providers that don’t offer serious mental health services (though they’ll sure take you if you walk through their doors)” This amazing new tool will be available in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!!!

(This rehab finder is NOW AVAILABLE! click here to access this phenomenal tool)

The point here? We’re not all the same. We are extraordinarily unique individuals with equally as unique issues. These issues could be worked out in a million different ways, and it’s important that we are treated by and as the one-of-a kind person we are to get through these issues in a healthy way.

Yoga and Healthy Coping

There are all kinds of ways to cope with life’s challenges. One way is by getting yourself to a yoga class and working out your issues on your mat. Yoga is a beautiful metaphor for life. As you practice yoga, moving through the asanas (postures/poses), you move as gracefully and truthfully as possible. Wherever you are that day, maybe you’re in a crappy mood, you’re just doing the best you can: moving, growing, evolving. Just as in life.

Camel Pose-Backbend

Back bends, for example, are a natural way to release endorphins. Natural opioids (also called endogenous opioids), which include endorphins, are used by the body to relieve pain and increase relaxation, especially during periods of extreme stress. These are the chemicals that make sure we can function during accidents, like after breaking our leg.

This chemical is released during yoga over and over again, which is why we feel so good during the class and for hours following the practice.

After a light warmup, you can practice back bends in the comforts of your home. It’s a great way to relax before bedtime or if you begin to enter into dangerous space or get thrown off track. After your body is warm, a really gentle pose to try is upward facing dog or Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.

Try This Heart Opening Yoga Pose

upward facing dog

1) Lie prone on the floor. Stretch your legs back, with the tops of your feet on the floor. Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the floor beside your waist so that your forearms are relatively perpendicular to the floor.

2) Inhale and press your inner hands firmly into the floor and slightly back, as if you were trying to push yourself forward along the floor. Then straighten your arms and simultaneously lift your torso up and your legs a few inches off the floor on an inhalation. Keep the thighs firm and slightly turned inward, the arms firm and turned out so the elbow creases face forward.

3) Press the tailbone toward the pubis and lift the pubis toward the navel. Narrow the hip points. Firm but don’t harden the buttocks.

4) Firm the shoulder blades against the back and puff the side ribs forward. Lift through the top of the sternum but avoid pushing the front ribs forward, which only hardens the lower back. Look straight ahead or tip the head back slightly, but take care not to compress the back of the neck and harden the throat.

5) Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is one of the positions in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence. You can also practice this pose individually, holding it anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds, breathing easily. Release back to the floor or lift into Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing dog) with an exhalation.

Impulse control has a lot to do with ones addictive behavior. If we can learn to regulate our impulses in healthy ways, i.e. through healthy challenges like sitting through an entire yoga class, we can figure out ways to bring this control off the mat and into our everyday habits.

There are so many healthy ways to cope with life’s challenges other than reaching for an unhealthy addictive substance or turning to an addictive behavior. One extremely healthy way to face obstacles in one’s life is by getting into your body to get out of your head or repetitive unhealthy patterns. Yoga is a wonderful way to connect inward.

Adi Jaffe writes for a website/blog called All About Addiction, which is a great resource for the latest cutting edge research and science in the addiction and psychological realms. He also contributes to Psychology Today, another amazing resource.

The Goods On Greens

Read up on the benefits, flavors and all the wonderful nutrients in all these green vegetables.

Veggie Flavor Nutrients

1. Arugula- intense and peppery; Vitamins A and C, iron

2. Broccoli rabe- bitter and robust; Vitamins A and C, calcium, iron

3. Collard Greens-mild and smoky; Vitamins A, C and K; folate; manganese

4. Kale-similar to collards but more intense and earthy; vitamins A, C and K; manganese

5. Mustard greens- pungent and peppery; vitamins A, C, and K; folate; manganese

6. Romaine lettuce- Crisp with a fresh, mild flavor; Vitamins A and C; folate; manganese

7. Spinach- mild and versatile; Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and K; manganese; folate; magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium

8. Swiss Chard-bitter and slightly salty; vitamins A, C,E, and K; magnesium; manganese; potassium; iron

Did you know that American farmers feed their cattle corn because the government subsidizes it?

Even worse, did you know that farmers must drug cows so their stomachs can tolerate grain rather than grass?

The US population is addicted to corn, for the worst reasons. Processed food contains corn syrup and cows and chickens are fed corn instead of grain because it’s cheaper. Corn is snuck into everything, from candy bars to baking powder (corn starch is the starch used).You’ll find corn in sauces, flours, sugars and syrups.

Michael Pollan was the first to discover how this unhealthy state of affairs has emerged about in his 2006 book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and how the industrialization of agriculture has denuded soil, poisoned animals and helped to bring about the rise in type 2 diabetes.

Corn and the Omegas

Corn Syrup

Farmers drug cows to feed them corn because their stomachs don’t tolerate corn like their preferred grain/grass.

In addition to the cows, chickens have been forced to eat corn as well. When chickens are fed corn instead of grain or grass, it makes the natural omega 3’s lower and forces the omega 6 in the egg to sky rocket. This imbalance of omega fatty acids can lead to many health issues.

This dietary imbalance may explain the rise of such diseases as asthma, coronary heart disease, many forms of cancer, autoimmunity and neurodegenerative diseases, all of which are believed to stem from inflammation in the body. The imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may also contribute to obesity, depression, dyslexia, hyperactivity and even a tendency toward violence.

Bringing the fats into proper proportion may actually relieve those conditions, according to Joseph Hibbeln, M.D., a psychiatrist at the National Institutes of Health, and perhaps the world’s leading authority on the relationship between fat consumption and mental health. At the 2006 Nutrition and Health Conference sponsored by the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine and Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Hibbeln cited a study showing that violence in a British prison dropped by 37 percent after omega-3 oils and vitamins were added to the prisoners’ diets.

What are Omega-3 and Omega-6?

Omega-3 and omega-6 are types of essential fatty acids – meaning we cannot make them on our own and have to obtain them from our diet. Both are polyunsaturated fatty acids that differ from each other in their chemical structure. In modern diets, there are few sources of omega-3 fatty acids, mainly the fat of cold water fish such as salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, black cod, and bluefish. There are two critical omega-3 fatty acids, (eicosapentaenoic acid, called EPA and docosahexaenoic or DHA), that the body needs.

Vegetarian sources, such as walnuts and flaxseeds contain a precursor omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid called ALA) that the body must convert to EPA and DHA. EPA and DHA are the building blocks for hormones that control immune function, blood clotting, and cell growth as well as components of cell membranes.

A few healthy tips from Pollan

In the Guardian, they write about this issue and about Pollan’s new book. “Pollan has written a digestible paperback, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. It extends his manifesto into 64 injunctions, including “Buy a freezer” and “Don’t eat breakfast cereal that changes the color of the milk”. Here’s hoping that Pollan will go on to expose other perverse food chains that afflict the world’s diet.

Everyone pretty much agrees that soda isn’t good for you. Even those who drink it regularly know it isn’t wise, yet continue to consume it for some odd reason. (addiction?)

The Facts

The average cola contains carbonated water, caramel color, natural flavors, caffeine, phosphoric acid and high-fructose corn syrup. Carbonated water is plain water infused with carbon dioxide, which creates the bubbles. Caramel color is a natural additive that tints food products, providing the familiar color consumers expect to see. Natural flavors are often of the citrus variety and added for taste. All of these are simple, harmless ingredients. Next is caffeine, a diuretic and stimulant known to be addictive.

What’s left on the list of ingredients is what solidifies soda’s bad name: sugar. Phosphoric acid is a chemical that adds a tangy or sour flavor by breaking down starches into sugar. We should consume as little sugar as possible, especially refined sugar.

Many products on supermarket shelves contain the final ingredient on our soda list: high-fructose corn syrup.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup: ‘Most horrific ingredient’

High fructose corn syrup is in most foods because it is a way cheaper form of sweetener than anything else.  “It is also one of the single most horrific ingredients in the food supply.” says Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS. Adding high-fructose corn syrup to foods provides little or no nutrition and but lots of calories.

If this is the case, then what about diet soda: Does it help or hinder weight loss? “There’s no hard-core scientific evidence that it hinders,” says Bowden. “But there is a ton of anecdotal information and intelligent observation that leads one to think that might be so.

Diet Soda Is No Diet At All

New research shows that noncaloric food and beverages deregulate our innate ability to judge caloric intake. Secondly, there’s the psychological part: Many people subconsciously think they’re taking in less calories by drinking no-cal drinks and then subconsciously allow themselves more food.

Two years ago, a study at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that there was a 41% increase in the risk for being overweight for every single can of diet soda a person consumed daily.

Lastly, there is some buzz among nutritional scientists that sweet tastes (through a Pavlovian conditioning method) might signal insulin to release even though there are no actual calories or sugar. (another reason Splenda sucks)

EW!

A recent study in International Journal of Food Microbiology found that 48% of soda fountains at fast food restaurants in the U.S. contain a bacteria that grows in feces – coliform bacteria.

Do you REALLY need another reason not to drink it?

(I have more if you do…!)

A randomized, double-blind, controlled study was conducted to determine whether the consumption of leafy vegetables by preschool children would enhance their serum vitamin A concentration to acceptable levels.

The importance of these findings in alleviating and/or controlling vitamin A deficiency in developing countries is discussed.

Preschool children in Saboba, northern Ghana, were randomly assigned to five feeding groups, differing essentially in the amount of fat and beta-carotene, fed once per day, 7 days per week, for 3 months.

The consumption of dark green, leafy vegetables (with fat- 10 g/100 g) significantly enhanced serum retinol; consequently, the percentage of children with adequate retinol status increased from after feeding.

Dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of many vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy, such as vitamins A, C, and K, folate, iron and calcium. They are also great sources of fiber. Research suggests that the nutrients found in dark green vegetables may prevent certain types of cancers and promote heart health. It is recommended that teenage girls eat 3 cups of dark green vegetables per week, or about ½ a cup every day.

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

Dark green vegetables are also high in fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, K, D, and E. These vitamins require a little bit of dietary fat in order for the body to absorb them. When you eat dark green vegetables, make sure to add a teaspoon of dietary fat, such as flax oil, olive or sunflower oil, avocado or seeds and nuts to make sure your body absorbs all of the vitamins you eat.

• Arugula has a peppery taste and is rich in vitamins A, C, and calcium. Arugula can be eaten raw in salads or added to stir-fry, soups, and pasta sauces.
• Broccoli has both soft florets and crunchy stalks, and is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, folate, and fiber. Broccoli can be eaten raw or steamed, sautéed or added to a casserole.
• Collard Greens have a mild flavor and are rich in vitamins A, C and K, folate, fiber, and calcium. The best way to prepare them is to boil them briefly and then add to a soup or stir-fry. You can also eat collard greens as a side dish. Just add your favorite seasoning and enjoy!
• Dandelion Greens have a bitter, tangy flavor and are rich in vitamin A and calcium. They are best when steamed or eaten raw in salad. (very detoxifying!)
  
• Kale has a slightly bitter, cabbage-like flavor and is rich in vitamins A, C and K. Kale is tasty when added to soups, smoothies, stir-fries, and sauces.
• Mustard Greens have a peppery or spicy flavor and are rich in vitamins A, C, and K, folate, and calcium. They are delicious when eaten raw in salads or in stir-fries and soups.
• Romaine Lettuce is a nutrient rich lettuce that is high is vitamins A, C, and K, and folate. It is best when eaten raw in salads, sandwiches or wraps.
  
• Spinach has a sweet flavor and is rich in vitamins A and K, folate, and iron. Spinach tastes great eaten raw in salads or smoothies, or steamed.
• Swiss Chard tastes similar to spinach and is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, potassium and iron. It is best stir-fried or eaten raw in salads.

find the full article here at pub med

Can eating healthier change the possibility of developing diabetes? Obesity? Some scientists at Yale seem to think so.

Recently, NPR published a story about the bacteria in our bodies. It revealed that, although the genes our parents gave to us matter, they aren’t the only genes that effect our health.

University of Chicago immunologist Alexander Chervonsky, with collaborators from Yale University, recently reported that doses of the right stomach bacteria can stop the development of type 1 diabetes in lab mice. “By changing who is living in our guts, we can prevent type 1 diabetes,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

We already knew that probiotics (good bacteria/flora) are good for us. Why wouldn’t a good environment in your tummy breed healthy digestion and nutrient absorption? Makes sense, right? But did you know that there are about 500 different types of bacteria in our stomachs and another 500 in our mouths? Good and bad bacteria exist all around us and inside of us, and can seriously effect our health and well being.

Bottom line: the less bacteria in our intestines, the healthier we’ll be.

Biologist Jeffrey Gordon of Washington University in St. Louis became quite well known a few years ago for a group of very skinny mice in his lab. The mice were skinny because they had no bacteria in their intestines. Gordon had kept them completely bacteria-free. If a bacteria-free mouse eats, food passes right through the intestine, basically undigested. As soon as the “clean” mice (bacteria free) were exposed to “this big, bad, dirty world,” (as Gibson calls it) “the mice suddenly turned their food into more calories and gained weight. So bacteria matter. Apparently, they can digest food far more efficiently.”

My opinion? Take in as much healthy, friendly bacteria as possible (i.e. bio-K, probiotics) and see what works in YOUR body. Bacteria can either help us or hurt us. Make it work in your favor!

Large intestine

To get the whole story check it out here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95900616

Philosophie Green Juice

Where the laws of nature have been overlooked we find disease (dis-ease: a disruption to ease). There is only one disease: toxicity and enervation, a lack of nerve force.

Alkaline foods are foods that raise the the amount of oxygen that your blood takes in. The most alkalizing foods are RAW green leafy vegetables, non-sweet fruits and (wheat) grasses. The opposite of alkaline foods are acid foods.

How much oxygen your blood can absorb is measured on a pH scale that ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 0 is most acidic while a pH of 14 is most alkaline.

Eating alkalined foods is good for you and the Earth because it is completely in harmony with natural law. Fresh, delicious, organically grown alkaline food that is good for the land, promoting shade-bearing vegetation that rejuvenates soil and contributes to purifying lakes, rivers and oceans.

This way of eating is the ultimate healing program. Start with a Philosophie cleanse to experience this way of eating yourself!

The Acid – Alkaline Balance

Our blood is in balance when we’re slightly alkaline: with a pH of 7.365. The blood is an organ-a liquid organ. It streams through the vascular system, throughout the arteries, away from the heart, and returns via the veins to the heart once again.

In the beginning of the 20th century, very smart scientists and nobel prize winners made a great discovery. If our blood cannot absorb enough oxygen we get sick: cancer, heart issues, arthritis and candida infections and diabetes are the result.

You know that our body tries to maintain a constant temperature 98.5F or 37C. But but do you know that your body tries even harder to maintain the right amount of oxygen in your blood (a pH of 7.365)? When our pH is too high or too low, we don’t feel well, we feel tired, gain weight, have poor digestion and get aches and pains.

Most people in the US and Europe are too acidic: they cannot absorb enough oxygen. That’s why cancer, heart disease, arthritis and diabetes are epidemic.

Why are we too acidic?

* Stress

* Toxins

* Parasites and

* The FOOD we eat.

Acid Foods List

It seems that what we eat is more of a health factor than people have thought. Common reasoning is that there is a multitude of disease. However, keeping blood and body tissue at a proper pH seems to keep premature death at bay and makes the difference between vitality and death. This is the secret of an alkaline body. It’s too bad that the foods most people like make us most acidic and thus sick. What are these food? You guessed right:

• Junk & Processed foods
• Sugar (raises insulin levels)
• Coffee & Tea
• All animal food/flesh (meat, eggs, chicken, fish, lobster, oysters)
• Grains: (white) wheat, rice, pasta, flour, bread etc
• Some Fruits
• Dairy products (milk, cheese, butter)
• Bad fats
• Peanuts, cashews.

Alkaline Foods List

During most of our lives, the majority of the foods we eat are (highly) acidic. These make us sick and tired. By eating raw alkaline foods and drinks, we can help our body to heal it self from most dis-eases:

• Vegetables – especially raw green leafy vegetables
• Fresh Herbs & Spices – parsley, basil, cilantro, cayenne, ginger
• Fruits – watermelon, avocado, cucumber, young coconuts
• Wheat grass
• Sprouts: i.e. alfalfa, mung bean, broccoli etc.

The best alkaline drinks are alkaline water, vegetable juices and wheatgrass juice.

How Acidic Are You?

How do you know your body pH? I love this one, because it’s incredibly easy to find out what your alkalinity is. You simply buy some pH test strips (also called litmus paper) at a health store and pee on it. The paper will tell you instantly what your pH is and thus, how alkaline or acid you are.

The Best & Easiest Alkaline Foods

Would you like to know the best and cheapest alkalizing foods? Edible wild plants. They’re highly alkaline, abundant, fresh and free!

Just throwing a few of them in your salad will help balancing you. Try sea veggies for a great alkaline food!

Go to a local farmers market and check out the local organic produce.

Ready to make changes now?? Try a Philosophie cleanse. It is an incredible way to jumpstart any healing program for quick recovery from modern dietary excess. It will leave you feeling rejuvenated and looking radiant!

We are a work in progress, constantly constructing and deconstructing ourselves. Philosophie offers the high quality building materials needed for this constant cycle. It is rich with enzymes, so it costs you nothing to digest, and all of its properties are highly charged and easily used in the body.

Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a recent study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

First of all, what is “mindful eating”?

The Center For Mindful Eating says that mindful eating has several components, including:

*learning to make choices in beginning or ending a meal based on awareness of hunger and satiety cues;

*learning to identify personal triggers for mindless eating, such as emotions, social pressures, or certain foods;

*valuing quality over quantity of what you’re eating;

*appreciating the sensual, as well as the nourishing, capacity of food;

*feeling deep gratitude that may come from appreciating and experiencing food

The study, which was a follow-up on an earlier study that revealed middle-age gained less weight when practicing yoga over a 10-year period than those who did not, confirms that the increased awareness that yoga practitioners often experience may play a bigger role in weight management than the yoga asanas themselves.

“The researchers found that people who ate mindfully – those were aware of why they ate and stopped eating when full – weighed less than those who ate mindlessly, who ate when not hungry or in response to anxiety or depression,” states a press release from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center released August 3. “The researchers also found a strong association between yoga practice and mindful eating but found no association between other types of physical activity, such as walking or running, and mindful eating.” Click here to read the whole report.

Yoga helps people be more aware of their actions, which helps them better gauge how much food they need and control weight. That sounds about right to me. Anyone else?

More and more diseases–Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease–are being linked to what’s called “oxidant stress” in the body, which is the tissue damage wreaked by free radicals in our diet and environment.

To prevent these diseases we rely on the superheroes and heroines of the body, the antioxidants found predominantly in whole plant foods like fruits. Most studies measuring the antioxidant power in fruits, though, has only studied the pulp of the fruit.

In the most comprehensive study of it’s kind ever published, Nutrition Research released a recent study out of China that measured the antioxidant power of the pulp, peel and seed fractions of 28 different fruits.

DO YOU FEEL THE PEEL?

Researchers found that with a few exceptions, the peel and seeds of fruit has more antioxidants than the pulp. So for example, the peel of kiwi fruits, has about three times the antioxidants than the inside of the fruit and the peel of fruits like pomegranates have almost 30 times the antioxidant punch. Grape seeds have a hundred times more antioxidant power than the pulp! So grapes with seeds are healthier than seedless, but only of course if one actually chews the seeds up.

If you do choose to not to peel nutrition off your fruit, it’s particularly important to wash them under running water and to buy organic

Nutrition Research 23(2003):1719.