Good Food is Essential to Good Health

Whilst few people will argue with this idea, there are many different interpretations of what good food is.

Humans have also become very clever at separating out essential nutrients, naming them and then showing what a deficiency means. And then making synthetic copies and selling them as ‘healthy’.

Whilst this understanding is clever, I consider it to be unnecessary. No, I’m not a world authority on nutrition. I don’t have a qualification on nutrition. However, I am an observer. And I always turn to nature for my answers. Man is too unreliable, with fads and fashions changing every year. Profit also plays an enormous part in what is recommended.

However, Nature is reliable and eternal. Natural laws never change. Nature has no profit, or ego, agenda.

I feel that all your nutrition should come from good food, following your evolution.

Humans are omnivores, evolving over millenia on a specific diet.

There are a few indications that can indicate what food is healthiest for humans.

The big apes are our closest cousins. Mostly they are vegetarian, but chimps will hunt occasionally. The emphasis is on occasional. Once a week or maybe once a month.

This idea is supported by human anatomy.

Human teeth are more like horse’s teeth (a herbivore), than cat’s teeth (a carnivore).

Human intestines are much longer than a cat’s, as plant fibre takes longer to process than does raw meat.

Both our teeth and our intestines show that humans are naturally at the herbivorous end of omnivores.

So a diet high in animal protein is not in our evolutionary experience and I suggest that it does not contribute to your good health. And I’m not alone.

Another aspect is also important.

Wild animals only eat raw food. Cooking destroys essential nutrients and alters others.

By eating a diet that is high in plant foods (fruit and vegetables) and low in animal protein also complies with the 80/20 theory, put forward by Dr Baroody and many others. That is 80% alkaline forming food (as is plant food), 20% acid forming food (as is animal protein).

And by making at least 50% of the diet raw, means that you will be getting the enzymes and other nutrients essential to good digestion, as well as good health.

Diet is so important to natural good health, it can (and does) become a maintaining cause of ill health when it is high in:

•  processed food (white sugar, flour, artificial ingredients including supplements)
•  animal protein
•  cooked food

It is also now known that pharmaceutical drugs cause acidity to the body.

People are often concerned about protein and calcium levels if they adopt a low animal protein diet.

There is much protein in plants. It is also far more easily digested and utilised than animal protein. How often have you heard people say, ‘the meat just sits in my stomach, like a heavy weight’? However, you will need to eat more than you currently do. Not a massive amount, but perhaps a little more by weight than the meat.

Green leafy vegetables are high in calcium. Although they may measure as less than in milk products, it is more easily digested and utilised. It’s not about the amount, it’s about how your body can absorb and use it.

If you’re still unsure, look at how quickly a cow, or an antelope, grows. They grow from a baby to a full, very large adult in less than a year. And they only eat grass and other plant material. Yet they are active (protein) and have huge, strong bones (calcium).

Many athletes are turning to a raw, vegan diet with increased performance, rather than decreased.

You may find these two links of interest.

Food Matters

Raw for 30 Days

Is Dairy Good for Your Bones?

This week I want to talk about exploding a common myth.

In my time as a natural therapist one thing has become abundantly clear to me. When the natural therapy movement as a whole embraces an idea as true, it takes at least 10 years for it to become even considered by the general public. And probably another 10 years for it to become common enough knowledge to be accepted. Even then, doctors are reluctant to accept it and may do so only grudgingly, if at all. Doctors as a whole are not very conversant in the benefits of nutrition.

One of these myths is dairy. Dairy is considered essential for the growth of children and to prevent osteoporosis.

The west is a high consumer of dairy products. The east, on the other hand is not. In traditional China (before westernisation), dairy was almost unheard of.

The west has a high incidence of osteoporosis. The east has a much lower incidence.

So does this idea of consuming dairy make much sense?

Agreed, dairy IS important for the growth and development of babies. But as soon as the infant is weaned, the enzymes in the stomach change to be better equipped to digest more complicated foods. This results in milk becoming indigestible. This is shown as loose stool, sometimes diarrhoea.

Another factor is that the quality of milk varies with each species. Cows grow to maturity in a year. It takes a human 18 odd years to reach the same maturity. This raises the question of how suitable milk from another species is.

When milk is tested for calcium and other essential nutrients, it comes up trumps, with exceptionally high levels. But is this the end of the story? Doesn’t digestibility come into the equation, the ability of the food to be assimilated?

In nature, milk is not consumed after weaning. To me, this means it is not required.

A final factor is the way milk is ‘harvested’. For the commercial production of milk, calves are removed from their mothers at about two days old. Any mother can understand the enormous anxiety and grief this creates in her. And the calf will also have a strong sense of abandonment.

With these strong emotions coursing through the cow, do you think that the milk might be affected? If the milk is affected, won’t the consumer be, too?

And this is quite apart from the pesticides and fertilised used in pastures, the hormones used to increase yields, the constant antibiotics to prevent disease, homogenisation to make the milk more uniform. And so on.

If dairy is not the best source of calcium, what is?

Green leafy vegetables are not considered to be high in calcium when compared with dairy, but the availably is much, much higher. This means that your body benefits far more from this source of calcium.

Consider this: herbivores such as cows, graze exclusively on grass and other green leafy plants. They grow to their not inconsiderable size within one year. Their massive bones depend only on green leafy plants for their rapid development.

Doesn’t that mean we can too, in 18 years?

Another point worth considering is that all carnivores in nature, crunch up on the bones that come neatly packaged with meat. Humans, in our infinite wisdom, remove the bones. But meat needs calcium to digest. If it is not present in the meal, it is leached out from your bones and your teeth.

And so osteoporosis results.

Humans are omnivores, but at the herbivore end of the scale. This means that we will benefit more from plant material for our nutritional needs.

Another source of calcium that is easily digested, is nuts. Making milk from nuts is far more nutrition optimised than cows milk can ever be.

Free yourself from the bonds of common myths!

Nature's Pharmacy

Do you understand the remarkable healing power of food?
Download this powerpoint link to learn how common, natural, unadultered food can support your health.
Nature's Pharmacy

Folic Acid is an Essential Nutrient but How Should You Take it?

Seasoned readers will know that I am passionate about getting all essential nutrients from food. Food supplies the right balance in the right proportions. Any excess is easily excreted. You can’t overdose.

However, with the advent of synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides, farmed food is not as nutritious as it once was. Studies have shown that food can look fabulous but have little nutritional content, hence the saying that ‘the West has never been so overfed, but so undernourished.’

And so supplements were born.

In theory, this is a great idea. In practice, synthetic supplements (most on the market) are totally out of natural balance, as they are isolated. No nutrient is in isolation in nature. They are always present with those that are needed to digest and process the nutrient, to make it available to your body.

Folic acid, or folate, is vitamin B9, an essential vitamin often prescribed to pregnant mothers.

I recently read a report that found babies born from mothers who had taken the isolated folic acid supplement commonly prescribed, had higher than normal incidents of tumours and cancer. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening (US) trial linked folic acid intake with 20% to 32% increased risk of breast cancer in women consuming more than 400 microg/d supplemental folic acid.

The report goes on to warn, that in 2005 the use of folic acid (in a synthetic and isolated form) in fortification programmes worldwide could have, “the side effect of increasing the prevalence of some of the most significant, human life-threatening diseases.” One of them includes MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate polymorphism). It is responsible for altering your DNA activity, increasing the risk for heart disease, colon cancer and acute leukemia later in life for the mother.*

So How Should You Take Your Folic Acid?

Those lacking in folic acid can become anaemic. But this is likely to occur because the overall diet is poor.

Natural foods that are rich in folic acid are green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, other green vegetables such as beans and peas and fruit.

Why eat poorly then fortify with supplements that are likely to cause you harm?

One of the best natural supplements are the superfood blue/green algaes. Because it’s a food, it is easily and fully absorbed and utilised. Try to buy those that which is harvested from pollution-free water and that which is fed naturally, such as by mineral-rich rivers and streams.

The one that I have found, that fits the bill for me, is the AFA blue/green algae from Lake Klamath in Oregan, USA. The algae grows naturally and is fed by mountain streams that are rich in minerals. The only human intervention is the harvesting. That comes as close as I know to being pollution free.

If you want to know more about the nutrients in the AFA, you can view them here. AFA is getting very good reports for naturally improving health in all areas.

*The People’s Chemist

High Protein Diets Can Be Detrimental to Your Health

Your body pH should be between 7.35 and 7.45 to be healthy. Anything outside of this range will allow ill health to creep in.

Short term symptoms of high acidity include

• low energy
• excess weight
• poor digestion
• aches and pains
• inflammatory process
• is toxic so allows for the overgrowth of bacteria, parasites, fungi, in fact any pathogen

Long term symptoms can include

• any serious health disorder
• osteoporosis
• muscle cramps
• chronic inflammation

There are many foods which cause a high acid level which are very popular. They include all processed foods. They also include high levels of animal protein. When your body is acid, it leaches calcium from your bones and teeth and magnesium from your muscles in an effort to maintain your critical body pH level.

High protein diets probably will help you lose weight, but at what cost? Only you can decide if the pay off is worth it. If you are attracted to these diets, then perhaps the way to go is for a short period only.

Alkalising food includes all fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds.

I have heard that people lose incredible amounts of weight on a totally raw food (all plant based) diet, such that they are concerned they have contracted a wasting disease. And these diets are highly health promoting.

Going raw doesn’t happen overnight. And it’s quite OK to have some cooked food occasionally, even when you are almost all raw. What matters is that you are feeding your body with the nutrients in needs, in natural balance. How else can it do the job of caring for you?

Food and nutrition are complicated. Very little is really known about them. My reasoning comes from following natural laws. Humans have generally made a mess of things. Our knowledge is incomplete and keeps being added to, as new discoveries are being made.

Stress, anxiety, fear and anger can also create an acid environment. While everyone will experience these emotions from time to time, it is the long exposure to, or the unresolved emotions that have a detrimental effect on your body. This is where homeopathic treatment comes in, as it offers perhaps the fastest and best way to heal these emotions at a deep level, returning your body pH to a healthy, alkaline level.

Regularly taking a pH reading can give you an idea of what’s happening over time. This means you can stop doing something if you can see a steadily worsening acid reading, or relax somewhat if you can see a steadily improving alkaline reading.

I do believe it is possible to lose weight with homeopathy alone, but that may require very regular visits over a long time period.

You may also be interested in reading the following article about protein:

Find Enough Protein in a Vegetarian Diet

And one on the benefits of bicarbonate of soda in raising your pH levels:

Baking Soda Offers Many Miraculous and Mundane Uses

And this is something I found some time ago, but can't remember the source:

Weight loss tip of the month
A higher protein diet doesn't have to be carb free to help you lose weight.

Severely restricting carbohydrates is not the reason some people experience weight loss with a high-protein diet.

It's the protein that sates their appetite and helps them lose weight. In a study, people who ate just a bit more protein each day, while eating less fat and an average amount of carbs, felt sated earlier, ate fewer calories, and still lost weight.

Some high-protein diets ask people to eat three times as much protein as they do carbohydrates and limit their carbs to as little as 50 grams per day or less.

Severely limiting carbohydrate intake and getting most of your calories from protein can be unhealthy.  Many healthy foods are high in carbohydrate, including whole grains (such as quinoa, barley, wild rice), legumes, fruits, and vegetables. A diet that severely restricts carbs will lack these nutritious foods.

For optimum health, to feel better and have more energy and
loose weight, eat a healthy, well-balanced,diet consisting of foods from all major food groups!

Raw Apple Pie

This is a variation of a raw food recipe I have adapted for myself.

Ingredients
Base
Walnuts or pecans
Dates
vanilla essence or pods

Filling
Apples
Honey
Juice of a lemon to taste
Coconut (optional)

Topping
Cashew nuts
Honey

Soak the nuts over night. This is like sprouting seeds - more nutrients are released.

Combine about equal parts of dates and pecans or walnuts in a processor. Add the vanilla. Spread evenly over a pie dish.

Process or grate the apples. Add the honey, lemon and some of the flesh of a coconut as required.

Spread on top of the base.

Process the soaked cashew nuts with some honey. You want a thick consistency. Spread on top of the apple.

Chocolate Orange Truffles

One of the best ways to start on your journey towards healthy raw food is the introduction of raw goodies. Being a bit of a chocaholic myself, I have started to make all my own. You may like to try this recipe. Experiment to suit your taste. With so many chocolate companies using GM ingredients, this is a great way to avoid them.

Basic Ingredients
by volume
one part raw unprocessed honey
one part raw coconut oil
two to three parts cacao powder (raw cocoa)

Mix in a processor. This is you basic chocolate mix, which is very rich.

Variations include:
Orange - adding a whole orange, roughly chopped and then processed.
Lemon - the same with a lemon, but you may need more honey.
The peel gives a lovely tang, but you may prefer to leave it out.
Dried fruit such as sultanas.
Raw nuts (soaked overnight to release the nutrients). Pecans worked well for me.

You can also make it less rich by adding organic, wholemeal, stoneground flour.

Green Smoothies for Health and Vitality

Green smoothies are a way of making the consumption of healthy raw green leafy vegetables acceptable. It's a matter of trial and error to see what suits you best. 

Eating raw leafy greens on their own is quite unpalatable to you if you're used to cooked veggies. But, by combining them with a sweet fruit, it becomes much tastier.

Using the softer green leafy vegetables is also an advantage, as eating the coarser leaves raw is not a wildly pleasant experience...

So choose veggies such as silver beet and spinach rather than curly kale or cabbage. And start with just one leaf of silver beet, or equivalent, to get used to it. Then build up as your taste changes.

I tried silver beet with bananas, but really didn't like it. Neither did I like it with berries. Now that pears are on the market, I have found one leaf of silver beet, plus some of the stem, mixed up in a processor with a whole pear makes a delicious and nutritious breakfast.

Experimenting is the only way to find what suits you.

Rainbow Soup

From Raw Food Reawakening by Karen Bartz

serves 1 - 2

Ingredients
water from one young coconut
1 medium chopped tomato
1 chopped avocado
1 teasp grated ginger
1 teasp miso paste
1 garlic clove

Mix ingredients together. If you prefer a smooth soup, then you can blend them.
Decorate with coriander leaves or diagonally and finely chopped spring onion.

Why Sugar Isn’t Healthy and Some Healthy Alternatives

Why isn’t sugar healthy?

Sugar is processed, which means the sugar is stripped away from other parts of the plant, other parts which are essential in helping to digest and utilise the sugar. For example, sugar needs calcium to digest, which are present in the parts that have been removed for ‘purity’. So this is robbed from your bones and teeth in order to digest the sugar.

Eating whole sugar cane is fine. Eating processed sugar is not.

In the processing procedure catalysts are added which may be detrimental to your health

The process usually alters the chemical structure of the sugar by hydrolysing

The resulting sugar is highly concentrated, way more than found in nature.

Enzymes are lost when heated over 118 degrees F.

Sugar makes your body acidic. Low pH levels (acidic) promote ill health, including tumours and cancers. Processed sugar robs your body of essential calcium (and probably other important minerals), supporting teeth decay and osteoporosis.

Alternatives Sweeteners
Fructose is often the resulting sweeteners in the alternatives to sugar. But high fructose interferes with copper absorption, can create liver problems. and increases mineral loss.

Erythritol is made by breaking down food starch (often sugar) into glucose and then fermenting it with a yeast called Moniliella pollinis. This breaks the glucose down into erythritol which is then purified into 99.5% pure.
In nature, erythritol occurs in items such as grapes, soy sauce, wine, honey and even cheese.

Agave syrup is the crushed whole plant sap and the resulting syrup is heat treated to concentrate it. The heat processing alters the fructose polymers to make it sweet, as it isn’t naturally so. This is known as hydrolysing. So agave syrup is chemically altered, misses many nutrients found in the original plant sap and has high fructose levels.

Inulin is another highly refined naturally occurring plant sugar.

Xylitol is present in most plants and corn syrup is typically used. This is hydrolysed at high temperatures using a nickel-aluminium alloy as a catalyst The resulting “very hazardous” acetic acid needs to be removed. This is done by further heating. Ethanol is added to crystallise it. This is then separated out by centrifugal action.

Stevia comes in all shapes and forms, so each product will differ wildly from the next. But basically, stevia is a herb. Probably most Stevia you can buy will be processed in some way (powder or liquid), so should be avoided. But you can buy the fresh whole or dried leaves. You can even grow your own in suitable climates.

Maple syrup is heat treated to concentrate it. Some non-organic forms have been found to contain formaldehyde and other toxins.

Sucarat is evaporated sugar cane juice. It’s heated to concentrate it.

Yacon syrup is from the root of the yacon plant in South America. To concentrate the syrup it is heated.

Honey is natural and you can buy it raw, but it’s worth remembering that the bees in cold climes (no food in winter) are fed sugar to replace the honey. This may influence the honey.

The Best Alternative to Sugar
Whole fruits generally contain a much smaller amount of fructose compared with sucrose and glucose. In addition, fruits contain vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, fiber, and other nutrients. Our bodies are designed to digest a complete “package” of nutrition that appears in whole, fresh, ripe fruits. For example, it’s always better to eat fruits whole or blend them rather than juice them. When you juice fruits you remove some of the fiber which helps to slow down the absorption of the sugars. Concentrated sweeteners contain no fiber.

Dried fruits can be used to sweeten foods. Add whole or soak the dried fruits and then blend. Dates, figs, sultanas and prunes are some of the sweetest dried fruits that tend to work well in recipes. Try dates blended with a little water for a maple syrup substitute. Sultanas soaked in tea make an excellent sweetener for cakes.

So what are my conclusions? That virtually all the sugar alternatives are as bad for your health as sugar is, as most of them have been processed and heat treated. Stevia leaves may be the best alternative, as well as raw honey, dates and sultanas.

I feel it’s best to change your eating habits, as least for most of the time. Limit processed sugar for rare ‘treats’. If you have a serious craving for sugar and sweet things, homeopathy can help you resolve it.

Zucchini Fettuccini

Tools: Blender, spiralizer and/or peeler

Ingredients:
3 medium sized zucchini’s – peeled
3 medium sized tomatoes
A handful of fresh basil
3 spring onion stalks
A handful of soaked almonds
½ a large avocado
A squeeze of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of coconut butter.

Directions:
Turn the zucchini into “spaghetti" using the spiralizer. If you don’t have a spiralizer you can use a vegetable peeler for create the “pasta”.
Blend all the other ingredients in a blender to make a creamy tomato sauce.
Mix the sauce with the “pasta”

Walnut Fudge Balls

Another sweet food, for those who aren't into chocolate.

Ingredients
1 cup walnuts
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup dried coconut
10 medjool de-stoned dates
coconut or sesame for rolling

Process all ingredients until firm but sticky. Then roll into balls and roll into coconut or sesame.
Makes 12 - 16


Recipe from 'Raw Food Reawakening' by Karen Bartz available from the link on the title at the top of the article..

Healthy Fruit & Nut Chocolate

With Easter just around the corner, I had to find a healthy chocolate recipe for you.

Would you believe it – a healthy chocolate with an adorable flavour. It is hard to believe they are a raw, all natural treat containing no preservatives, refined sugar, dairy or emulsifiers. Cacao is very high in antioxidants, magnesium and mood enhancing chemicals such as anandamine. In fact, raw cacao powder is the top ranking antioxidant food source. We’ve added some cashews, raisins and goji berries so that each mouthful is packed with health- giving nutrients. 

Ingredients
•   300g raw cacao butter
•   1? cups raw cacao powder
•   1/3 cup agave nectar or unprocessed honey
•   1 handful of cashews
•   1 handful of raisins
•   1 handful of goji berries
•   1 large vanilla pod
•   1 pinch of salt 

Tools Power Mill, chocolate mould or ice tray
Time 10 minutes
Serves 20 - 30 depending on the size of your moulds 

Method
1. Melt the cacao butter to liquid in a dehydrator at 45°C or heat in a small saucepan placed inside a larger saucepan full of water. Keep on a very low heat and be careful not to let the water get hot.
2. Scrape out the insides of the vanilla pods, save the seeds and discard the outer pod.
3. Pour the melted cacao butter into a blender along with the agave nectar, salt, and vanilla pod seeds and blend until smooth.
4. Add the cacao powder and pulse your blender to mix. Caution! Do not over blend as the mixture will separate. For fruit and nut chocolate, add the raisins and cashews and pulse the blender to mix through. Alternatively you can chop the cashews and raisins by hand and mix through manually.
5. Spoon the mixture into an ice cube tray or chocolate mould and put in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
6. Gently press the chocolates from the mould or use a butter knife to pop the chocolates out of the ice cube tray. Eat and enjoy!

Green Power With a Bite

Preparing food is not my speciality, but I do enjoy good and healthy food. I stumbled on making this salad with a difference. 


Ingredients per person
a handful of baby spinach leaves
half a grated zucchini (courgette)
a bit of grated cauliflower
1 chopped tomato or about 10 cherry tomatoes
half finely chopped green capsicum (pepper)
a couple of small florets of finely chopped broccoli
half a sliced avocado
some sprouted seeds, such as mung beans
chopped spring onion or red onion
grated fresh unpeeled ginger to taste
dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar/lemon juice
 
Combine the ingredients for a highly nutritious and filling salad. The ginger gives a wonderful bite.

Living Mango Vegetable Curry

Serves 6

Tools: Blender and food processor (or knife)

Ingredients:

Curry Paste:
3-4 large red chilli peppers
1 handful of fresh coriander (replace with basil if not in season)
6 basil leaves
1/4 red capsicum
1/2 red onion
1/2 tomato
1 piece of fresh ginger ( a piece 1/2 the size of your thumb)
100ml of cold presses olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1/4 teaspoon of Celtic sea salt
1/2 lime or lemon

Vegetables for curry:
1 medium sized mango
1 small sweet potato 
The equivalent of 1 cup of  butternut pumpkin
3/4 red capsicum
1/2 red onion
1 head of broccoli
1 and 1/2 tomatoes
1 medium sized cucumber
1 handful of fresh coriander
1 avocado
6 basil leaves
1/2 a lime or lemon
1 cup of virgin coconut oil
Nama shoyu tamari





Directions:
For the curry paste simply place all the ingredients except the olive oil in blender.  Gradually add olive oil while blending into a smooth paste. 
For the main body of the curry either slice vegetables very finely using a food processor (slicing blade) or slice finely with a knife. Then add curry paste,
coconut oil and mix thoroughly. 

Note: if you let the curry stand in the fridge for a few hours the vege’s will soak up more flavour. You can also very gently heat the curry at a low temp for no more than 1 minute and serve warm. 

Protein Smoothies

Vegetarians and vegans often feel their diet lacks protein. This is unlikely as there is plenty of protein in vegetables and in nuts and seeds. However, some people, such as athletes and certain blood group types, do better on a high protein diet.

Sun Warrior protein is a raw and plant based source of protein. I have been eating it for several weeks and enjoy it simply mixed as a paste in water. However, that may lack excitement for some people, especially children. Here are a couple of recipes which should tempt even the most critical taste buds.

Chocolate Protein Smoothie Ingredients
8 oz water
1 to 2 scoops of Sunwarrior Protein (chocolate flavor)
1 to 2 ripe banana
Choice of 1 tbsp of Flax oil, Hemp oil, or Coconut oil
1 scoop raw cacao powder or cacao nibs (optional)
Extra ice for texture & consistency.

Blend until smooth and creamy.


Berry Protein Smoothie

Ingredients
1 cup of mixed berries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries
1/2 cup of red grapes
1/2 cup of mango
1/2 cup of papaya
1 - 2 ripe bananas
1 to 2 scoops of Sunwarrior Protein (plain flavour)
 
Blend at high speed to make a creamy smoothie. Additional ice may be needed for a more ice cream-like consistency. 


You can purchase Sun Warrior protein in Australia or from America.

Health Ranger's Living Juice

Ingredients (certified organic is best)

•  1 container of blackberries
•  1 bunch of parsley
•  2-3 large leaves kale
•  2 large carrots
•  2-3 stalks celery
•  2 pears/oranges (optional)
•  aloe vera leaf (optional)

If you can't find these ingredients, substitute something close. It's crucial to have some berries in the mix, however. They are part of the recipe for making it all taste good.

After proper preparation (washing, etc.), push all these ingredients through a juicer to generate the fresh juice. If you only have a blender, then blend all these ingredients with water, then pour the juice into a nut milk bag and squeeze out the juice from that. With either method, you'll end up with a container of fresh juice.

You don’t have to separate out the fibre. This is a healthy part of fresh produce. You choose which works best for you.

This juice will be extremely potent, so mix this with water (add an equal amount of water to the juice). You may also wish to add some stevia if you'd like to sweeten up the taste a bit.

Health benefits of the fresh living juiceThe blackberries will mask the bitter tastes of the other ingredients with their acidity. This acidity greatly improves the overall taste of the recipe. It also improves digestion of the minerals in the vegetables (you need an acidic digestive environment to absorb minerals).

• Blackberries also have a powerful anti-cancer effect through your entire digestive tract, from your mouth and gums down through your colon.
• Parsley is a super digestive cleanser. It will help eliminate toxins while providing your body with a burst of chlorophyll that will help cleanse your blood and liver.
• Kale contains potent anti-cancer phytonutrients. It also contains healthy plant-based proteins and lots of chlorophyll.
• The carrots are used primarily as a sweetener here (they really do sweeten up the juice), and they also contain a wide assortment of beneficial nutrients, most notably beta carotene (from which carrots get their name).
• The pears are the sweeteners here. I find that pear juice tastes much better than apple juice in these raw living juices, but of course it's your choice of what's best for you. If you're diabetic or want to reduce the sugars in this recipe, reduce the numbers of pears to just one or eliminate them altogether (when I juice here in Ecuador, I don't use pears at all. I just use carrots.) Some people prefer to use oranges instead of pears. The tart taste of the oranges in some ways provides a better overall taste. Try the recipe both ways and see what you like best.

In addition to all the benefits listed above, these foods are alive with nutrients and energies. They are live foods, not dead processed foods, and they provide both the nutrients and the energies of life! It's a simple concept, really: If you want to stay alive, eat more living foods. If you want to be dead, eat more dead foods.

Please note, the fruit juices sold are mostly pastuerised, so are dead foods.

Kiwi Coconut Lime Smoothie

This recipe is to be found in the 'Raw in Ten Minutes' (real) book by Bryan Au.
You can purchase it here if you live in Australia. If you live in other parts of the world, you can purchase it here - scroll down the webpage until you come to the book.

Ingredients

1 fresh, young, Thai coconut
2 peeled kiwi fruit
2 tablespoon honey or to taste
1 fresh lime juice or to taste

Carefully scrape the coconut flesh out, removing the bits of fibre. Blend the coconut milk and flesh with the other ingredients.

Serves 2.

This is a refreshing and nourishing drink.

Variations include (or replace the kiwi) with strawberries, pineapple or honeydew melon.