Raw Food Health Benefits

Hi everyone:

I have a quick question. I am hypothyroid for 8 years. I just started making smoothies for breakfast in an effort to be healthier. The veggies I use in the smoothies are: Zucchini, Cucumbers, Carrots, lettuce, and I add apples for a little sweetness. Well, the weird thing is that instead of feeling better, I am feeling worse. Does anyone know why this is happening? please I would love to hear you guys thoughts on this cause I am very confused now. Thanks guys.

Yes, Lauren, I got that answer from a Chinese Medicine practitioner: you should be eating every meal especially breakfast, HOT! Soups/stews for dinner etc.

So now I cook up my apple/pear for a few minutes before I put all my additions of nuts and seeds into it for breakfast, and I marvel at the difference this has made.

Thanks for that response. appreciate it....I did read that somewhere myself a while ago. The thing is though, a lot of times I do drink it late in the afternoon and the same thing happens...I am baffled since none of these foods are goitrogenic. Thanks for that input though.

Unless zucchini is organic, it's probably GMO. You MUST eat organic (or just don't eat it) to heal your thyroid and adrenal glands. They are delicately interconnected.

I saw David Wolfe's video this morning from the TEDxHelsinki on his "Passion for Chocolate" and all it's health benefits, so I thought I'd post it for all of you to look at.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7R5Ty1XfqE&feature=player_embedded

Check this article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2004070/The-appeal-peel-The-surprising-ways-fruit-veg-skins-work-wonders-looks.html

This newspaper comes with articles about eating the peel of the fruits quite regularly and although I don't doubt how good they are for the health I also think that one is running the risk of taking in too many harmful chemicals! They never talk about that!

Hi everyone: I am trying to start the raw food diet but I really need help with getting the right blender. Is there anything as good as the vitamix but more affordable? I would have purchased the vitamix but this is too expensive. Please help someone!!! Thank you all.

Loren, there is not another blender that will do what a Vitamix does. I tried them all, even Kitchenaide, and I was trying to drink chunks. A Vitamix makes green smoothies as smooth as a milkshake. I add a scoop of whey protein powder to mine and they are wonderful and so good for you. You can sometimes find a used one on ebay but I would suggest buying one and paying it out if you have to. Good luck. Carolyn

Hi,

We own a Blendtec blender which is expensive, like the Vitamix. This past winter on vacation, we had to use a simple $35 blender to make our green smoothies - and you know what?! They were great. Almost as good as our home blender that cost ten times as much. I mean, really - you're ingesting all the pulp, etc. with a blended drink anyway - does it really make all that much difference if it is blended totally smooth or almost totally smooth? I don't think so.

Loren, I use a Black & Decker Cyclone for my green smoothies. It works just fine. I have blended fresh beets, passion fruit, avocado, bananas, spinach and kale & frozen fruit. Not all at the same time however. Good luck on your raw food effort.

My masticating juicer, an Oscar, makes smoothies, juices, fresh pasta, baby food and bread sticks. I think that the most important thing is that it doesn't warm up the smoothie or juice, at least that seems to me to be the most important after doing quite a bit of research on the Internet before buying mine. Also in the books I have they all recommend a masticating juicer. The other thing is that as all the vitamines and enzymes stay alive you can keep your juice up to 48 hours (which we never do but my husband does drink his in the evening when he comes home and even the colour still looks great). They are more expensive than a lot of blenders but then they come in different prices. The Oscar was not cheap and to be honest if I had been able to try it before I bought it I wouldn't have bought it but still, I would have bought a masticating juicer! The juices and smoothies are great, you can even choose how much fiber you leave in them, the pasta and bread sticks I have never tried but I find that the machine has a few problems like juice getting into the entrance of the motor and so, not what you would expect for that price. But.... we do fully enjoy our juices and smoothies and it juices everything under the sun!

Thank you all so much for your response to my question about the blender. I really do appreciate it.

I would just like to add that the Oscar also has a device to mince meat but you have to buy it separately. Here in countries like France (at least in my area) it is hardly possible anymore to have them mince pork in the shop (I don't like buying meat already minced and I like a mixture of beef and pork), I think because of problems with Muslims so the only option is to mince it at home.

For soups I actually never use the juicer, although I could, I use a much simpler device which is a staff mixer. They come in all prices, also very cheap and do the job very well. I have used them all my life!

I bought the Montel Williams HealthMaster Fruit & Vegetable Emulsifier from an infomercial. It costs about $200. I love, love, love it.

I have a Tribest personal blender, which is very good. I use it to make smoothie, soups, salsas and sauces. The Oster Fusion is also an inexpensive and good blender. Check the reviews online.

Loren: I've recently switched to a raw lifestyle as well. After having done a lot of research and read what raw and non raw foodists have written, I made the decision to purchase a Vitamix. Yes, it's definitely an investment but in my opinion I'm worth the extra money. It performs well and has an awesome 7 year warranty. The company's been around for ages so that's pretty comforting. My naturopath has had one for over 10 years and she tells me it runs like new. I use if several times a day and I'm totally thrilled with it. Because it is so powerful, it's able to break down the cell walls of your food releasing more nutrients which means your body's able to better absorb all its goodness with a lot less effort on your part. If money is tight right now, just buy a blender and start blending; it's a good start. Blendtec is also another one that the raw and non-raw community recommends very highly. I bought one initially but returned it for the Vitamix because I like the manual controls of the latter. Hope this helps.

I have a vitamix that I love. I have seen used ones for sale at health food stores. They were much more affordable and, considering how well they are made, I would consider starting there. A new one is too expensive for now.

Dirty Dozen... good advice on what foods you should buy organic...
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/VDR00022/Dr-Weil-EWG-Shoppers-Guide-to-Pesticides.html

I am starting a raw food "diet" today. A friend told me that she calls it the D-Diet (D for Diarrhea), because it causes her to run to the bathroom all the time. So much so that she had to stop the diet because she wasn't able to work (tutor). I am going to start out slowly ha ha. Anyone have any yummy recipes to share? If I find any good books or recipes, will post them here.

I love doing raw food fasts. It has never given me diarrhea though. Guess it depends on what you eat. The most important thing is to be prepared. Make a list and go to the grocery store on a full stomach. I am already a skinny person so I do not worry about the weight loss effects. I always base my food choices from a Health stand point and not a "weight" issue. When I fast with raw foods, I eat lots of avocadoes and soaked nuts (I suffer from hypoglycemia and this helps). They are filling and help me get through the first 2 days, which are the hardest for me. I also eat raw egg shakes (cage free,hormone and antibiotice free of course) This is something I have done most of my life (consume raw eggs) and I have never gotten sick from one and do not fear it. I do believe that healthy chickens lay healthier eggs, so I always buy cage-free for raw consumption. Here are my favorite recipes for my fasts. I make a homemade Mexican type dish by dicing 2 avocados, 1/2 med. onion, 1 tomato, 1 tbsp cilantro, a squeeze of a lemon or lime wedge, 1/2 jalepeno pepper finely chopped (I do not remove the seeds), and a tsp of a high quality cold pressed oil(olive,sesame,etc). Sometimes I take that mixture and use it as a salad topper instead of using a salad dressing. Another filling treat when raw, is to take about 1 cup of raw almonds (soaked overnight with water drained off) and put in a food processor with a splash of vanilla extract, a cup of ice and 2 tbsp of raw honey. My 12 year old loves this. It reminds me of butter pecan ice cream. Their are several very good websites for raw food recipes. Just type it in your search engine. I wish you much success on your fast. Never leave your home unprepared...always take quick access nuts and fruits with you.

Thank you so much for the advice and recipes Selena! I started my research yesterday and ended up buying 3 books on Amazon on raw food diets. Also found a number of websites that have what looks to be delicious recipes like sunburgers (made from sunflower seeds) and butterscotch pudding (bananas, dates, apricots, almonds and vanilla). Looking forward to trying your recipes as well!! Thanks again. Kimberly.

here is a recipe for chia seed pudding:

1 cup Chia Seeds
1 cup total combined raw nuts: almonds, walnuts & macadamias
_ to _ cup of organic shredded coconut
_ plus cups of agave nectar (stevia or maple syrup can be used)
Vanilla
1 tsp. Cinnamon
Pinch of good Salt (sea, celtic, redmond's, red salt, etc.)

1. Place the almonds, walnuts and macadamias nut in a bowl and cover with good filtered water for 1-4 hours.

2. Put the chia seeds in a large mixing bowl (it must be able to hold 8-10 cups) and pour 6 cups of good filtered water over the seeds, and stir with a wire whisk. Stir a second time in another 15 minutes. This keeps the seeds from clumping.

3. After the nuts have soaked (referred to as activating), drain off the water, put the nuts in a blender along with the coconut, agave nectar, Vanilla, Cinnamon and salt. Add one cup of filtered water to the blender, and whirl on high for a couple of minutes until everything is a smooth milky consistency.

4. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the chia seeds and whisk until blended. And it is done!

5. Store in a glass jar in the frig.

it is super yummy!

Natural Food Recipes:

Zucchini Pasta with Marinara..

Cut off ends-Ribbon to Zucchini with peeler
Sauce: Food Processor (blender)

Tomatoes chopped- Raw
Red Bell Pepper chopped-raw
Sun Dried Tomatoes dry (soaked in water) or oil packed

Seasoning for Sauce:
Garlic Cloves (1-2 chopped)
Basil & Oregano (fresh)
Sea salt (only a little)
EVOO (olive oil) 2 TBS
Red Pepper (pinch)
Black Pepper (pinch)

Wait for last minute to put on zucchini so it doesn't get watery.

Top with a sprinkle of Mozzerella cheese
dash of sea salt
sprinkle of crushed red peppers!

To Tashimoto from Vancouver: Hi, cheaper blenders may blend OK to the eye and the taste buds but they are no good for serious health correction as the violence of the way they blend (centrifugal force) destroys all the enzymes present! Enzymes are the major plank in restoring health health. That's why it's best to invest a bit more and get a "masticating" blender which grinds slowly.... especially if you are a cancer patient.

All the best, Kev

Garlic and basil leaves is my favorite. They are a good natural healers for me!

Acid Reflux Remedy: Golden delicious apples works well i find along with aloe vera. I have had this acid reflux going on eight years besides meds have tried everything and so far (under one week..) this by far has worked!

My husband had acid reflux really bad for many years. He now takes apple cider vinegar in his water daily and had not had anymore problems with acid reflux. He has been taking the vinegar for almost five years and he swears by it.

Acid reflux-
30 second CURE!!! Dill pickle juice... I'm serious, just go to the re-fridge, open the jar, take a sip and within 30 seconds your heartburn, and acid reflux is GONE!!! Hello--No more pills! Your welcome :)

I've lived with acid reflux burning for over 25 years and tried so many over the counter and medicalprescriptions and nothing seemed to help. I was on the computer some time back and came upon a testimonyial about a person who found a certain apple that cured his acid reflux and wanted money to get the name of apple. I thought it was a fluke just wanting money but began buying differant types of apples off an on none of them helped. While on a vacation trip my wife bought some jonagold apples and I sliced it up and ate little slices thru out the day. Im quite amazed at the affect these apples have done in releaving the pain i've always had in sturnum area. Its six days now. Its like a miricle. IM wondering if anyone else with similar pain could also get such fantastic results??? please let me know. P s. Ive tried the acv with baking soda remidies and not much help for me and I about gag when I use them.

My daughter had severe acid reflux & was medicated for 2 years, but was in severe pain, & frequently vomited. She is now drug free & symptom free. Please tell Melissa from Tampa Fl to use the acv after a meal, but also to eat an apple, (even 1/2) before bed. These simple remedies changed my daughters life. We don't know why the apple works but it is fantastic. The problem with a lot of reflux is not too much acid but not enough, hence the acv aids digestion. This was the case with my daughter. She had bad breath and nausea. The food in her stomach was not being digested, it was just sitting ther rotting. I note with interest your advice to take 1/4 tspn b soda with acv. Will definitely add this to the mix. Thanks Jillian NSW Australia

A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with GERD and I suffered from acid reflux and heartburn. The medication prescribed by the doctor rather worsened my situation and I suffered a number of side effects from it. I came across a site suggesting that drinking raw cabbage juice cures acid reflux and other problems related to the stomach, such as ulcer.I did further research to confirm this and decided to give it a try.

The general suggested daily dosage is about a quart [800ml] of raw cabbage juice to be taken about 4 times daily. I found that rather too much and I started with 400ml [100ml x 4].I noticed great improvement and after one week I reduced the dosage to 300ml [100ml x 3]. After about 3 weeks of the whole therapy, I decided to take only 200ml a day. Those with stomach ulcers or acute cases of acid reflux might need to take the full dosage.

I have stopped drinking cabbage juice since about 10 months now and I haven't had any serious reflux problems. For those who would like to try it, PLEASE NOTE that it is said to have strong impact on the thyroid glands [the more reason why I never consumed 800ml a day!]. Not to mention the stench - it is better stored in an air-tight water bottle and kept in the fridge. Good luck to all, and thanks for the great site.

Cut garlic clove into small pieces. Swallow them in one go with just a little water. This cures Bloating, stomach cramps and constipation.

I am so glad I found your website. Last year I started developing some strange food sensitivities and terrible dizziness and fatigue. After numerous doctor visits and many many tests I was diagnosed with acid reflux! I was taking aleve for joint pain and levaquin for an infection and my health started going downhill fast. I started taking Prilosec & Zantac and noticed remarkable improvement for a few weeks, but then my heartburn and problems swallowing got worse than ever! One day I noticed that a nice crunchy green apple helped my GERD considerably, and now I can't live without 2-3 green apples a day. I'm going to try that apple cider vinegar too - antacids are just like painkillers, they don't attack the real problem they just try to minimize complications without addressing the source. Thanks for the info!