Master Cleanse

Everybody needs to "change their oil" once in awhile. We are systematic about doing it for our vehicles, but what about our bodies?? What about all the gunk that is collected there?

Enter the Master Cleanse.

The Master Cleanse, also known as the Lemonade Diet, or the Maple Syrup Diet is a program created by Stanley Burroughs Burroughs states that it is a detoxification program that aids in the removal of harmful toxins from within the body, as well as a reducing diet for loss of weight, and a cure for ulcers and "every kind of disease," resulting in "the correction of all disorders."

The Master Cleanse is a way to rid the body of toxins and remove the cravings associated with drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and eating junk food. "Coffee, tea, and various cola drinks, as habit-forming beverages, also lose their appeal through the marvels of the lemonade diet." The cleanse involves drinking only lemonade made from fresh lemon or lime juice, maple syrup, water and Cayenne pepper. No solid food is eaten for the entire cleanse.

My husband is on day 6 of the Master Cleanse. Day 1 and 2 he felt pretty rough, we are guessing from lack of caffeine (coffee). But he has never once been hungry. We have done other fasts, and thought (*grins*) we were starving to death. So far he has lost several pounds, his dandruff is completely gone, he is starting to taste and smell again, and his shoulder pain (from what we suspect is a partially torn rotator cuff) is almost gone. We are hoping this fixes his sinus issues. He looks and feels GREAT! He plans to continue for 10-14 days..

I really recommend reading the book before starting the cleanse so that you understand the dynamics of the cleansing and healing process.

SAD

Healthy Diets, Not Standard-American Diet Prevent Disease
article from al-natural-health-and-beauty.com

The Standard-American Diet is sad.

Many Americans assume that the United States is the world's healthiest nation. Unfortunately, statistics show that we are not as healthy as we may think.

We do enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, with extraordinary emergency medical technology and trauma care.

The average American has first-class access to emergency health care, but this fact doesn't make us healthy. When we evaluate our national lifestyle as one of healthy living we get a different picture.

The Standard-American diet typically might include a doughnut or muffin with coffee and orange juice for breakfast followed by a mid-morning bagel with cream cheese.
Lunch would likely be a turkey sandwich with some chips and a soft drink-or a hefty fast-food burger with extra cheese, a large order of french fries, and a "super-sized" soft drink.
The afternoon hours would feature an "energy-boosting" candy bar from a vending machine with another soft drink.
Dinner promises a meat-and-potatoes entree with a roll and margarine, some green beans for the health-conscious, and some ice cream for desert.

This diet amounts to a prescription for poor health at best and disaster at worst. Virtually any departure from this diet will make you feel better. There is very good reason that the Standard-American-Diet is referred to by its acronym-SAD!

Ancestors Healthy Diet
Just one hundred years ago or less, the Standard-American Diet was dramatically different from what we eat today.
Widespread corporate "mono-agriculture" with concentration on singlecrop specialties and chemical fertilizers and pesticides was unheardof then. The typical Standard-American-Diet consisted mostly of fruits, vegetables, wild grain and seeds, fish, raw, unpasteurized dairy products, and meat from wild animals. Our ancestors consumed 30 to 65 percent of their daily calories (and up to 100 grams of fiber a day) from a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. That is why, long before the discovery of vitamins, people who had access to healthy foods lived extremely long lives without vitamin deficiencies or major illnesses.

Their protein needs were met by consuming pasture-fed animals, wild game, and fish that were rich in highly beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid. These fats protected our ancestors against diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Laws of Diet-Nutrition
Many who violate the laws of diet-nutrition are ignorant of the relation of the laws of living (eating, drinking, and working) to their health. If then we would resort to simple means, and follow the simple laws of health that we have been neglecting-proper diet, use of pure water, fresh air, sunshine, rest, and nature's remedies, herbs, etc., nature would restore the body to its original health.

The Standard-American Diet would be sad no more.

Plant Protein Source
an article from Green Smoothie Girl

Myth #1: “People need 20% protein—and animal protein is best.”

The idea that beef, chicken, fish and other animal products are the “best” source of protein is ingrained in the American psyche because of very successful work on the part of the multibillion-dollar cattle and dairy industries. They have immeasurable help from the fact that bodybuilders can show impressive bulk as a result of eating “quality” animal proteins. The plant protein source is, in fact, superior.
People are surprised to learn that vegetables have plenty of protein. To believe that, you have to let go of the idea of 20 percent protein being good and necessary—Colin Campbell’s animal studies in The China Study, and then his largest human nutrition study ever conducted, documented that a 20 percent animal protein diet leads to all the modern degenerative diseases. Campbell noted that rats fed 20 percent casein (cow-milk protein) developed cancerous tumors and died early, while those fed 5 percent casein were lean and vigorous beyond their life expectancy. When the diets of the two groups were switched, Campbell and other researchers around the world repeatedly got consistent results. Formerly lean animals developed tumors and died on a high-protein diet. And the tumors of overweight, cancer-ridden animals disappeared and life expectancy increased when they were switched to low-protein feed.
I used to lease a Pharmanex Biophotonic Scanner, and in the course of a year scanned 10,000 people nationwide for the carotenoid antioxidant levels in their skin, which is the nutritional endpoint of the body. The average American scans at 20,000. I scan at 70,000, which is above the 99th percentile and off the top end of the chart (as you would expect, virtually all raw foodists I measured scan at 50,000 or above). I scanned cancer patients who were below 10,000 (and we therefore could not get a reading). And despite doing a lot of work in gyms, I never once scanned a bodybuilder even as high as the national average! They were, on average, not much higher than the cancer patients. Their animal-protein diets may create a bulked-up appearance, but I’m more concerned about their long-term health.
Vegetables tend to have 9-10 percent protein. (Broccoli and spinach, however, have more than 40 percent protein, and my Best Whole Food Green Drink has the best green sources of protein on the planet, spirulina and chlorella algaes, with 58-60 percent protein.)
People often say they know sickly vegans to justify daily meat eating as a good lifestyle choice. But of course, not all vegans eat good nutrition: they don’t eat meat, but they might eat cotton candy for breakfast! Have you ever seen a sickly gorilla? He looks for nothing but a plant protein source every day.
Stephen Arlin, author of Raw Power!, is a 17-yr. vegan raw-foodist, as well as a rocked-up, 6’2”, 225-lb. bodybuilder. Bill Pearl is a vegetarian who won four Mr. Universe bodybuilder titles. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “Bill Pearl never talked me into becoming a vegetarian, but he did convince me that a vegetarian could become a champion body builder.”
A “quality” protein (animal flesh that matches human flesh closely) isn’t the same thing as “good” protein, as Campbell discusses extensively in The China Study. Your body can assemble all the amino acids from a plant protein source to create more quality muscle mass that does not break down quickly like that in heavy-meat-eating athletes.
I inadvertently put Stephen Arlin’s theory and observation that plant-based muscle mass is more enduring to the test recently. I peeled a tendon off my shoulder kickboxing and was forced to take a nine-month break from all weight training while rehabilitating. When I returned (having eaten my long-time, vegetable-intensive and animal-products-minimal diet), I was able to lift my original weight within two weeks and had lost no visible muscle definition. Fact: Animal flesh and animal products may lead to quick muscle mass, but eating lots of animal flesh is a Faustian bargain: short-term gain for a steep long-term price. Protein powders and bars are a fad designed to increase protein intake beyond healthy ratios. A plant protein source is best and leads to long-lasting, slower-to-build but slower-to-degenerate muscle mass. A typical American 20 percent animal protein diet is linked to cancer, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, and many more risks.

Raw Foodism:

Raw foodism (or rawism) is a lifestyle promoting the consumption of un-cooked, un-processed, and often organic foods as a large percentage of the diet. If 75-100% of a person's total food consumption is raw food, he/she is considered a raw foodist or living foodist. Raw foodists typically believe that the greater the percentage of raw food in the diet, the greater the health benefits.

Raw (vegetarian) food diets may include a selectıon of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds (including sprouted whole grains), and non-pasteurized/non-homogenized dairy products (such as raw milk, raw cheese and raw yogurt).

Adherents of raw foodism believe that consumption of uncooked foods encourages weight loss and prevents and/or heals many forms of sickness and chronic diseases. “Raw foodists” believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost much of their nutritional value and are harmful to the body.

Common beliefs held by raw foodists:
*Raw foods contain digestive enzymes which aid digestion, meaning that the body's own enzymes may work unimpeded in regulating the body's metabolic processes, and heating food above 104-120 degrees Fahrenheit degrades or destroys these enzymes in food.
*Eating food without enzymes makes digestion more difficult, which could lead to toxicity in the body and cause excess consumption of food, obesity and chronic disease, such as metabolic syndrome, which some studies suggest affects up to 25% of the U.S. population.
*Raw foods contain bacteria and other micro-organisms that affect the immune system and digestion by populating the digestive tract with gut flora.
*Raw foods have higher nutrient values than foods which have been cooked. In addition, processed food and convenience food often contain excitotoxins (flavor enhancers) which can cause excitotoxicity. Foods with added chemicals, preservatives, additives, colouring agents/dyes of any kind are frowned upon by raw-foodists.
*Wild foods (or natural foods) are more nutritious than domesticated foods or industrially produced foods.
*Cooked foods contain harmful toxins which cause chronic disease and other problems.
*Raw foods like fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants and thus help to stifle signs of aging.
*Eating cooked foods can lead to acidosis.

Juice! Juice! Juice!

Want your kids to eat more fruit and vegetables? Why not juice? I don't mean the sugar filled, pasteurized, store bought stuff. I mean REAL LIVE JUICE!!! And, it's a great way to get lots of nutrition into your diet.

Some facts about carrot juice:
* Carrot juice is THE richest source of Vitamin A, but also contains Vitamins B,C,D, E, G (I didn't know there was a G), and K.
* Carrot juice helps promote the appetite and is an aid to digestion
* One pint of carrot juice daily has more constructive body value than 25 pounds of calcium tablets.
* Carrot juice is a natural solvent for ulcerous and cancerous conditions.

The best thing about carrot juice is IT TASTES GOOD!
We have been juicing for about 6 years. We have a mid-priced juicer, a Champion ($220), I find it easy to use, easy to clean, and economical. If you can afford the best money can buy, it would be the Norwalk Juicer. I also encourage you to research the benefits of blending, with a high quality, 3+peak horsepower blender. I would not recommend the Juiceman-type juicers... (you get what you pay for..)

My kids favorite juice is: carrot/apple or carrot/orange
My favorite juice is carrot/apple/celery
A great book on the benefits of juicing is: Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices, by N.W. Walker. Includes recipes and remedies for specific ailments (using juice therapy)
Oh! It best to drink fresh juice as soon as possible after juicing. The longer it sits in the refrigerator, the more nutrients are lost.
Happy Juicing!

Where Do I Start?

I know from personal experience that the hardest part of "going healthy" is finding food everyone will eat, and then actually preparing it.Here are some suggestions:

1. Meal planning. Shopping will be much easier if you have a list. Deciding what to make for dinner will be much easier if you already have the ingredients. I plan meals a week at a time. These two things will save you time and money.

2. Preparation. Wash, and cut your produce and place it in clear plastic containers in the fridge. If it's convenient it will be more likely to be eaten. Having ripe bananas peeled and frozen makes breakfast smoothies a breeze. Make meals the night before and put into the fridge or crock pot for the following day.

3. Purge your kitchen. You will eat what you have available. If you get rid of packaged cookies, snack cakes, potato chips and other "junk", you won't eat it!

4. Let your kids help. Your kids will be much happier with the healthy changes if you give them some say in what they eat. Let them make their own breakfast smoothies. At the grocery store, let them pick out new fruits and vegetables to try. Let them help make meals, peel vegetables, measure ingredients. Let them pick out their favorite "healthy" meal, and let them prepare it (even my 5 year old cooks!)

5. Educate. Research for yourself what really is healthy. When you read a study on how pork is "healthy", read on and find out WHO funded that study (the Pork industry). Read the mountains and mountains of research linking how the foods we put in our bodies affects our future quality of life. Research the connection between eating processed foods (chemical laden, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, GMO) and cancer, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

Educate your kids. Tell them whats wrong with the unhealthy food. Tell them of the benefits of eating LIVE food. Explain why fruit smoothies are healthier than sugary breakfast cereal and cow milk.

6. Pack a lunch. You will be less likely to "have to" stop for fast food if you pack a lunch. Make it yummy! When going on long car trips, pack a cooler filled with healthy sandwiches, bottled water, and healthy snacks.

7. Don't deprive yourself. I need treats. Kids need treats. Make your own! Make healthier versions of your favorite cookies, cakes, pies and pizza's. Substitute whole wheat flour for the bleached white flour (I do half and half mostly, using wheat only tends to make things heavy and tough). Substitute cane juice crystals, sucanat or even honey for white sugar. And so on!
Make your own "everyday" bread. I bought my second bread machine from a friend (who never used it) for $20. Put all of your organic ingredients in the pan, pop it into the bread machine, and 3 hours later..fresh, organic bread for much less than store bought. I figured out that it costs me about $.42 a loaf to make organic ww bread.

"It is easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet." -Margaret Mead

The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Foods to Eat Organic

#1 Meat. Raising animals with conventional modern methods often means using hormones to speed up growth, antibiotics to resist disease on crowded feed lots, and both pesticides and chemical fertilizers to grow the grain fed to the animals. Not to mention the animals being fed 90% GMO corn diets.

#2 Milk. Cows raised for dairy production are given hormones to make them produce more and more milk. Udders are pushed to their limits and blood and pus are excreted into the milk. Then they are routinely given antibiotics to combat frequent infections. These hormones and antibiotics are then passed on to you. Studies are linking early puberty to the hormones.

#3 Coffee. Many of the beans you buy are grown in countries that don't regulate use of chemicals and pesticides. Look for the USDA Organic label to ensure you're not buying beans that have been grown or processed with the use of potentially harmful chemicals.

#4 Peaches. Multiple pesticides are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards.

#5 Apples. Like peaches, apples ar typically grown with the use of poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients.

#6 Sweet Bell Peppers. Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're often heavily sprayed with insecticides.

#7 Celery. Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals that are used on conventional crops.

#8 Strawberries. If you buy strawberries out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that use less-stringent regulations for pesticide use.

#9 Leafy Greens. Leafy greens are frequently contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food.

#10 Grapes. Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth period of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's thin skin.

#11. Potatoes. America's popular spud ranks high for pesticide residue. It also gets the double whammy of fungicides added to the soil for growing.

#12 Tomatoes. A tomato's easily punctured skin is no match for chemicals that will eventually permeate it.

Click here to read a list of 10 foods you don't need to buy organic.

Buying Bulk

Buying bulk is smart for several reasons:

#1 It saves you money. When eating lots of organic produce, and whole foods on a budget, buying bulk really helps.

#2 In these uncertain economic times, it's just plain smart. You can buy 50 pounds of brown rice for $42.

#3 It is one of the easiest ways to go green & save money at the same time. When you buy in bulk the manufacturers use less packaging materials and in turn you produce less waste. Plus, because you buy more product at once you then make less trips to the store in the future which can save you time, money and fuel.

Here are some examples of bulk items I have.

Wheat (for grinding into fresh bread), oatmeal, white and brown rice, pasta, peanut butter, pinto beans, red and green lentils, split peas, black beans, farina, honey, evap. cane juice crystals (sugar), baking supplies (baking powder, soda, yeast, sea salt), apple cider vinegar, nuts, raisins, dried fruit, coconut, and popcorn.

All of these store nicely in 3-5 gallon food grade buckets. Buckets are easy access and keep the bugs out. Be sure to label, and date.

I have found bulk food the cheapest through my locals co-ops. Warehouse stores (Sam's, COSTCO) also have excellent bulk prices.

And, if you have adequate freezer space, it is very economical to buy fresh fruit when it is in season, for example strawberries, peaches, and blueberries. Freeze them for smoothies and baking. I always buy enough to last until the following summer.

Having bulk food storage makes weekly shopping much easier, and meal and dessert planning a breeze!

What Do You Eat?

Making the transition to healthy eating can be, well, challenging. I grew up on meat and potatoes. I did not grow up on smoothies and veggie burgers. It is possible to transition to healthy foods, without compromising taste. You can adjust some of your favorite recipes, by substituting some healthier ingredients. Instead of cow milk (what's wrong with cow's milk you ask, click here.), use rice or almond milk. Instead of white sugar, use evaporated cane juice crystals (right next to the sugar at the grocery store!!), or cane sugar, or honey, or agave. Whole wheat flour instead of white. Buy organic veggies and fruit, (sometimes very close in price.)

Here are some things that we currently are loving. Hope these give you some ideas.

Breakfasts:

Oatmeal (not instant), real oatmeal with cinnamon and honey. Cream of Wheat. SMOOTHIES. Granola. Pancakes with real maple syrup, or fruit topping. Eggs, free range organic is best!
Chocolate milk (try this recipe). Kefir smoothie.

Lunch:

Sandwich ideas: tempeh, sprouts, garlic hummus and avocado, fresh sliced veggies, veganaise. Soup. Salads with romaine lettuce, baby spinach, raw veggies and/or fruit, nuts, or seeds.

Dinner:

TLT sandwiches (tempeh lettuce tomato).
Veggie Burgers (homemade)
Stir Fry with tofu, and rice.
Soups, with bread and salad.
Taco's, meat substitutes, or lentils flavored like taco "meat"
Eggplant/Veggie Lasagna
Spaghetti
Chili, no meat, more beans.
Whole Wheat Pizza (cheese for the kids, veggie supreme for hubby and I)
corn muffins, fociatta, homemade bread, dinner salad, brown rice, quinoa, potatoes.
Beans (black, or re fried pinto) on tortillas, with cheese, lettuce

Snacks:

goat cheese (I make my own, it's sooo easy!), pitted dates and sliced apples, raw nuts, fresh fruit, carrot or veggie juice, fruit juice, guacamole with tortilla chips, hard boiled eggs, popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast. Granola.

A Well Stocked Kitchen

Juicer- Juicing is the key to gaining and maintaining optimal health. I recommend a Champion Juicer. This juicer, in addition to making fresh vegetable and fruit juices, can be used for making baby food, nut butters, soft banana/fruit "ice cream", and apple sauce. It retails for around $300. It is dependable and easy to use. I do not recommend a "centrifugal" (spinning basket)juicer, because this method is not a sufficient means of breaking open the cell to extract vital nutrients into the juice.

Water Distiller- I believe distilled water is the best water for you. There is conflicting information on this, so please decide for yourself. Distillers can be pricey. If you are unable to obtain a distiller (I don't even own one), I would recommend a Berkey. I do own one of these, it is awesome.

Food Dehydrator- is a wonderful machine that allows food to be preserved using a low heat process. When purchasing a dehydrator, it is vitally important that it have a thermostat that can be set at 107 degrees or lower. Any dehydrator lacking a thermostat, likely will reach temps high enough to kill all the enzymes and destroy many other nutrients.

Vita-Mix or Blendtec Blender- This is on my wish list! These blenders do what no other blender can do, they are nothing short of amazing. The Vita-Mix retails for about $400, and the Blendtec for about $600. Make smoothies, dips, grind flour, make spreads, nut butters, raw sauces, dressings and soups.

Other Misc.- A large cutting board, food processor, sharp knives, stainless steel or glass saucepans (no aluminum, or non-stick), a hand-juicer, a good vegetable peeler.

Dispose of aluminum cookware, and your microwave oven, or give it to a relative you don't like :)