You Are What You Eat
BY BRENDA COBB / AJT //
Poor nutrition has been directly related to low energy, depression, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Good nutrition is known to help create optimum health, and eating a lot of raw and living sprouted foods is at the top of the nutrition chain.
Hippocrates said, “Let food be your medicine, let medicine be your food.” The body was created to heal itself, and it will if given real food.
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What to Aim for and What to Avoid
It turns out that Mother Nature provides us with natural, real food which can be grown, picked and eaten right out of the garden. Remember, our ancestors picked wild greens, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and ate them in their pure and natural form, and this is still a good idea today.
If you don’t have the room or time to garden, there are many good grocery and health food stores which provide an abundance of fresh organic produce. After all, fresh fruits, vegetables and sprouted living foods are important keys to good health.
On the other hand, processed foods – those in boxes, cans or bags and full of additives, preservatives, chemicals, colors and dyes – lack the nutrition that organic fresh produce offers. Sure, such pre-prepared foods are quick and easy, but they can compromise good health.
My rule is this: If I can’t pronounce the words in the ingredients list, I’d rather not put it in my body.
Going further down this path, genetically modified (GMO) foods are man-made, and not real natural foods. For example, the cells of fish are sometimes added to strawberries with the idea that because fish can survive in cold water, strawberries with fish cells can be grown in colder climates.
On the most basic level, this can cause a pretty serious problem for people who don’t eat fish or meat. The question arises “Are GMO strawberries a fruit or an animal food?”
Also, keep in mind that heating food over 112 degrees kills living enzymes and compromises vitamins and minerals. Raw and living foods which are not heated have much more nutrition.
Meanwhile, conventional produce which has been grown and sprayed with chemicals can pose a health risk. Organic produce not only tastes better, but it has no chemicals on or in it, either.
A Few “Super Foods” to Choose
Garlic is good for heart disease, worms, tumors and headaches, and it helps lower cholesterol, too. To boot, one raw, crushed clove contains the antibiotic equivalent of one hundred thousand units of penicillin.
In the fruits and vegetables realm, avocado is one of the world’s most perfect foods and a valuable source of organic fat and protein; fresh lime juice is an astringent which stimulates the liver and gall bladder, stirring up and eliminating acids and latent toxic settlements; and cucumber is rich in minerals that neutralize blood acidosis that help dissolve uric acid accumulations such as kidney and gall bladder stones.
Finally, for some simple additions to your dishes: flax seed oil is one of the best vegetarian sources of Omega-3 fatty acids which helps maintain the integrity of cell walls; cilantro helps purify the blood from heavy metals like mercury and lead; baby greens are valuable internal body cleansers and also high in calcium; and powdered kelp is a sea vegetable which is high in minerals.
Supplements can be helpful in many cases, but instead of just taking a vitamin or mineral pill, add fresh, natural produce to your diet. Your body will thank you in so many ways!
Recipe: Lime Veggie Salad
½-cup fresh cilantro
1 chopped tomato
1 chopped avocado
1 chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped broccoli
¼-cup chopped green onions
½-cup chopped red pepper
4 cups mixed baby greens
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons flax seed oil
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon powdered kelp
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
Chop all of the vegetables, cilantro and garlic, then combine the rest of the ingredients and toss until well coated.
Brenda Cobb is author of “The Living Foods Lifestyle” and founder of The Living Foods Institute, an educational center and therapy spa in Atlanta offering healthy lifestyle courses on nutrition, cleansing, healing, anti-aging, detoxification, relaxation and cleansing therapies. For more information, call (404) 524-4488 or (800) 844-9876 or visit www.livingfoodsinstitute.com.
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