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Raw, Vegan Live Food Diet? Reallly? Why? (part two): By Cyndi Dodick

Cyndi — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:58:58 +0000

“So this raw food thing sounds nice and all, but I’m pretty healthy, I have energy and honestly, I’m not feeling the whole salad scene. I buy my meat and fowl and fish from local folks who really care about what they are doing and besides, what would we do with all those cows if we stopped eating them? ”

Why is it important to be plant-based? In a previous article we talked about some of the health benefits. What about the environmental costs of eating animals? Well, if we care about the earth we are “gifting” to our children, it’s not just important, it is MANDATORY!

Hang on, here are some facts borrowed from www.goveg.com.

“Really? Can’t you find something better to eat than me?”

It takes about 300 gallons of water per day to produce food for a vegan, and more than 4,000 gallons of water per day to produce food for a meat-eater.

You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year.

Food for a vegan can be produced on only 1/6 of an acre of land, while it takes 3 1/4 acres of land to produce food for a meat-eater.

Vegans and vegetarians save more than 100 animals a year per person.

In the U.S., 70 percent of all grains, 80 percent of all agricultural land, half of all water resources, and one-third of all fossil fuels are used to raise animals for food.
Eating animals destroys the rain forest. Most environmentalists are aware that the Amazon has been slashed and burned in order to create grazing space for cows. But perhaps an even greater threat is the destruction of rain forest in order to create land where feed is grown for factory-farmed animals in wealthy nations. A recent report by Greenpeace blamed the chicken-flesh industry for leading the way in destroying the Amazon.

Animals raised for food produce 130 times as much excrement as the entire U.S. population, roughly 89,000 pounds per second, all without the benefit of waste treatment systems.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, animals on factory farms in America produce 20 tons of fecal matter each year for every U.S. household
A pig farm with 5,000 animals produces as much fecal waste as a city of 50,000 people.
A contamination study conducted by John Chastain, a Minnesota agricultural extension engineer, reports, “The data indicates that the pollution strength of raw manure is 160 times greater than raw municipal sewage.In other words, farmed animal waste is much more dangerous than human waste. There are no federal guidelines that regulate how factory farms treat, store, and dispose of the trillions of pounds of concentrated, untreated animal excrement that they produce each year.
The EPA reports that chicken, hog, and cattle excrement have polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states. (And that’s just in the U.S.)
The EPA reports that roughly 80 percent of ammonia emissions in the United States come from animal waste.
A 2006 United Nations report found that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined!

And if global planetary destruction is not really a concern to you, how about world hunger?

The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth.

About 20 percent of the world’s population, or 1.4 billion people, could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to U.S. cattle alone.

The single most powerful choice we can make for the preservation of our planet is to stop eating animal products.

And what about ethics? The principle of Ahimsa, or non-violence, not harming other people or other sentient beings. Not harming oneself or the environment. To practice Ahimsa clearly a person must choose to be vegan since there is some sort of violence even when the animals life is preserved. Just because we are distanced from the violence does not excuse us from the responsibility for it if we consume the result.

If we hope to bring peace to this planet, we must bring peace into our lives. Being vegan supports a more peaceful existence by greatly reducing the violence associated with supporting our physical body.

Choose a plant-based diet so we may nourish ourselves free of violence, so we can honor all the creatures sharing Mother Earth and so we can smooth our way towards the Divine. For part 1 of the article see the following link. http://luthar.com/raw-vegan-live-food-part/
Cyndi Dodick

The Big Two and the Mighty Ten in the Obesity Epidemic: by Dr Damiana Corca, L.Ac., DOM

Dr Damiana — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:13:59 +0000

The obesity rates are globally skyrocketing. In spite of the advanced technology available in our current healthcare system, solutions are far from being found and a so-called “cure” it is nothing but a merry chase.

The culprits for obesity are highlighted in two major causes. However, David B. Allison, PhD, and his colleagues have pointed out ten additional causes in their paper published in the International Journal of Obesity.

“The Big Two”

Food marketing practices: Increased food sizes, high availability of cheap fast food and vending machines with energy dense foods, and an upsurge of high fructose syrup usage.
Decreased physical exercise: less exercise in schools and a general decrease in physical activity.

The Mighty Ten

Sleep debt: Numerous studies over the last 40 years show that lack of sleep affect the appetite. Increased tiredness can often lead to increased snacking.
Pollution: Different pollutants such as pesticides, solvents, heavy metals are endocrine disruptors and they can easily affect the fat metabolism. The exposure to BPA, found in the processing of plastic, is of particular importance as it strongly influences estrogen and androgen. What’s more worrying is that BPA accumulates in the human placenta thus directly affecting the fetus.
Air conditioning/heating: Lack of variability in ambient temperature causes the body to expend less energy thus increasing the fat storage.
Decreased smoking: This does not come as a surprise, but smokers weigh less and usually gain weight after stopping. This of course, is not by any means a way to keep the weight down.
Medications: Many pharmaceuticals such psychotropic medications, antidiabetics, antihypertensives, steroid hormones and contraceptives, antihistamines, and protease inhibitors can cause weight gain.
Demographics: Older adults and some ethnic groups have higher obesity rates. 
Increasing gravida age: The maternal age has increased tremendously in the past decades and unfortunately is a high risk for the offspring weight management.
Intrauterine/intergenerational effects: Environmental changes in uterus see to affect obesity rates. In addition, as far back as two generations may influence the risk of obesity.
Obesity-fertility link: Moderately obese people may be more fertile than lean individuals, which may select for genotypes predisposed for obesity.
Union of obese spouses: Marriage between obese men and women may also increase risk of obese offspring.

A clear understanding of the causes of obesity is definitely an important step. Prevention can oftentimes offer the answer for many. However, after a certain point help from a healthcare practitioner is highly indicated. Integrated practices such as Nutritional Consultation, Acupuncture, Herbology, and appropriate exercise practices are a just a few ways that can help achieve a healthy weight management.

Read more articles by Dr Damiana at Elite HealthPlex Clinic.

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Reference:

David B. Allison et al. Ten Putative Contributors to the Obesity Epidemic. Published in final edited form as: Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2009 November ; 49(10): 868–913. doi:10.1080/10408390903372599.

Disclaimer

The information on this blog is provided for educational or reference purposes only and it is NOT a substitute for professional health care. No information obtained on this blog should be relied on as the basis for treating or diagnosing conditions, symptoms, or illness and all queries should be directed to your health care provider. No warranty or guarantee of a cure is expressed or implied with any information at this blog, nor does Elite HealthPlex Blog make any representations regarding the use or the results obtained with the information. In no event shall Elite HealthPlex Blog, its employees or associates be liable to any person or individual for any loss or damage whatsoever which may arise from the use of this blog or any of the information available on this blog.

Emotions in Chinese Medicine: by Dr Damiana Corca, DOM, AP, L.Ac.

Dr Damiana — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:01:07 +0000

“The sage is like a mirror: he neither sees things off, nor goes out to meet them. He responds to everything without storing anything up. Thus he is never injured through the myriad transformations he undergoes”

Confucian Huai Nan Zi

Emotions play an essential role in Chinese Medicine. They are of particular importance because the spirit and the body are strictly connected in diagnosis and treatment. We can go as far as saying that oftentimes the treatment of physical symptoms affects the spirit and the other way around.

In older Chinese texts, emotions were in general more emphasized when viewed as causes of disease. Rousseau (c.1700) implemented the notion of emotion, however many philosophers before Descartes used the term passions for emotions. The word “emotion” comes from the Latin “e-movere” which means to move out, while the word “passion” comes from the Latin verb “patire” which means to suffer. “Passion” mirrors better the Chinese word “qing”, in the light of the concept of emotions as cause of disease.

One of the most important principles in Chinese Medicine is that emotions are a cause of disease only when present for a long time or very intense. In such cases, the circulation of Qi is impaired, the spiritual aspects from Chinese Medicine such as the Mind (Shen), Ethereal Soul (Hun), and Corporeal Soul (Po) perturbed to further affect the Organs and the Qi and Blood.

Emotional disturbances can also root from the diseased organs, which might have primarily started due to dietary factors, for example. If the affected organ were the Liver, the resulting emotion would be irritability.

One of the oldest written books on emotions comes from Confucius (c. 500 B.C.) where he lists seven emotions: joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hatred, and desire. The Daoist Lao Zi lists the same number of emotions though slightly different: joy, anger, worry, sadness, love, hatred and desire. The 5 Element view states that anger affects the Liver, joy (extreme joy) the Heart, pensiveness the Spleen, worry (grief) the Lung, and fear the Kidneys. In spite of this classification, the Heart is particularly affected by all emotions. Many of the numerous emotions not mentioned here are assimilated within the traditional emotions. For example, indignation can be assimilated within anger, respectively the organ Liver.

Desire seems to be the ultimate root cause of disease. This is reflected in Daoist, Confucian and Buddhist thought, feature that is probably mentioned in many other philosophies. Maybe this is exactly because desire is what drives many of our aspirations – or it is rather the non-gratification of the same desire that actually leads to a diseased state.

These emotions and their organ associations can indeed be the base of highly effective treatments for the complex pathologies present in our society. The success of the Chinese Medicine treatments lies in the specific diagnosis and treatment based onpatterns that are found in each individual rather than diseases.

Examples of diseases successfully treated with Chinese Medicine therapies such as Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine are depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders (manic-depression), night terrors, attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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Reference:

Maciocia, G. The Psyche in Chinese Medicine. (2009). Churchill Livingstone: New York.

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More articles at Elite HealthPlex Clinic.

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10 Striking Facts About Homeopathy: by Dr. Damiana Corca, DOM, AP

Dr Damiana — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 20:55:20 +0000

1. Homeopathy is one of the four most widespread medical systems along with Traditional Chinese Medicine, Herbal Medicine and Conventional Medicine.

2. The Statue of Samuel Hahnemann, MD – the Father of Homeopathy – stands in Washington, D.C. at the intersection of 16^th street and Massachusetts Avenue and is one of the few statues of nonpolitical or nonmilitary figure. President McKinley personally chose that spot so it could be visible from the White House.

3. Unlike many other alternative medical systems existent today, Homeopathy is a Western Medical system.

4. The first medical reference book for home use ever written in US was a homeopathic reference – The Domestic Physician – written in 1835 by Constantine Hering, MD.

5. In the deadly flu epidemic of 1918, the “Great White Plague”, that claimed over 500,000 lives – homeopaths had a death rate of 1.05%, while allopaths had a death rate of 30%.

6. In late 1800s, US was the world’s leading country in Homeopathy.

7. In 1800s there were more than 20 homeopathic medical schools (which in 1900s were all converted to allopathy, many of them still existent today such as Boston University School of Medicine, Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia, and New York Medical College).

8. In England, 42% of physicians refer patients to homeopathy.

9. In France, approximately 32% of physicians use homeopathy.

10. Homeopathy uses as its healing principle the Law of Similars – a disease can be cured by a substance if that substance can cause, in a healthy person, symptoms similar to those of the disease.

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Source and further reading:

Lansky, A. Impossible Cure, The Promise of Homeopathy. (2009). R. L. Ranch Press: Portola Valley, CA.

Read more articles at Elite HealthPlex Clinic.

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Psychiatry in Chinese Medicine – A Basic Comparison of Western and Chinese Philosophies: by Dr. Damiana Corca, DOM, AP, L.Ac.

Dr Damiana — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:29:23 +0000

In order to grasp the idea of mental and emotional problems from the Chinese Medicine perspective we must uncover the meaning of basic terms such as spirit, mind and emotions. To understand the connotation of these words we need to explore philosophies such as Daoism and Confucianism, but also some of the Western philosophers’ views.

A recurring theme in Western philosophies is that emotions are waves clouding Reason. Furthermore, emotions are main cause of disease on many accounts, this being a common line of thought that Chinese Medicine agrees on. However, Chinese Medicine tends to consider emotions only as cause of disease, putting less emphasis on how emotions work.

In spite of this, emotions are far from being only a factor that influences Reason. In fact, they are a crucial factor in the development of Reason. Emotions underlie mental emotional development in a human being. In the first few months of life, the baby develops early emotions such as happiness and sadness, satisfaction and frustration, calmness and anger. After the second year of life a further class of emotions emerge, the self-awareness which gives rise to emotions such as empathy and envy. These first years’ developments are consistent with the Chinese Medicine, according to which the Shen (Mind) progressively reaches maturity around the age of 7.

Similarities between Western philosophies and Chinese Medicine

Heraclitus, the first Greek philosopher considered to have first discussed the presence of the soul, thought that soul and body were not very different, but rather had a difference in the degree of fineness and mobility. These thoughts resemble the Chinese standpoint that the spirit and body are just different manifestation of Qi.

Chinese Medicine views of the Ethereal Soul are similar to Aristotle’s idea of three souls: vegetative, which animated the vegetable world, sensitive, which animated the animal world, and intellectual, which animated the humans. The same belief is shared by Thomas Willis, who believed in the idea of two souls: sensitive and rational.

Thomas Aquinas called the heart the house of emotions and consciousness. On a very similar line, the Chinese regard the heart as the lodging of consciousness, memory, wisdom and intelligence.

The Canon-Bard theory states that emotions root in the hypothalamus. The feedback between the hypothalamus, muscle and organs mirrors the Chinese view of emotions as concurrent movement of Qi on both physical and mental level.

To strengthen the connection between emotions and physical symptoms, the James-Lange theory maintains that emotions are actually the result of physiological functions such as muscular tension, increased heart beat, dry mouth, etc, rather than the cause. This brings out the comparable idea found in Chinese Medicine that psychic changes happen simultaneously with the physical changes. Another similarity between the James-Lang theory and Chinese Medicine is the connection of emotions to the heart and blood vessels. In addition, one of the Chinese Medicine patterns commonly found in mental emotional problems is Heart-Blood Deficiency, a description of the pattern being found in Lange’s view of sorrow.

The power of the Chinese characters is underlined in the image which describes the “excitation” created by emotions: it contains the radical “water” as a comparison of the force of the waves with the powerful effects emotions evoke. Solomon agrees on the common view that emotions perturb Reason, they enchain and enslave us. However, he goes as far as to say that emotions are the life force and drive of the soul. More importantly, emotions represent the Self, not Reason. As Nietzsche emphasized: “Passions (emotions) have more reason than Reason.” Solomon also states that wisdom is not opposite to passion, which is a common view of the Chinese philosophers.

Damasio separates feelings from emotions, saying the feelings are more inward and unconscious, which is similar to Corporeal Soul, while emotions more outward and could represent the Mind and Ethereal Soul in Chinese Medicine.

Freud’s classification of the psyche in ego, super-ego, and id could mirror the souls in the Chinese perspective with the id as the Corporeal Soul on the physical level and Ethereal on the psychic level. In addition, his view on death points out other similarities with the Corporeal Soul centripetal movement before death.

The Influence of Confucianism and Daoism in Chinese Medicine

It is vital to make a clear-cut distinction between the meaning of spirit, mind, and psyche from the Chinese Medicine perspective before exploring the world of Confucianism and Daoism philosophies.

In his book “The Psyche of Chinese Medicine”, Giovanni Maciocia gives very clear and concise definitions of these terms. Spirit is referred to as all 5 Yin Organs’ spiritual aspects, that is the Mind (Shen) of the Heart, the Ethereal Soul (Hun) of the Liver, the Corporeal Soul (Po) of the Lungs, the Intellect (Yi) of the Spleen, and the Will-Power (Zhi) of the Kidney. Therefore, the Mind is the spiritual aspect of the Heart, while the soul is typically associated with the Corporeal Soul. Psyche is usually used as a synonym for spirit.

Yi Yang, a Daoist philosopher, promotes the idea of body and spirit being nothing but a different depth of aggregation of Qi. To illustrate this thought, another Daoist philosopher states that “a stone is a lump of Qi”. Furthermore, the Daoist Fan Chen says that body and spirit are “like the sharpness of the knife”, “there is no question of one knife’s sharpness surviving the destruction of its blade”.

The Confucian philosopher Zhang Zai writes that Qi is never created or destroyed, as it is part of a continuous transformation. He says: “When Qi consolidates itself it has shape and becomes visible to our eyes. When Qi does not consolidate itself it has no shape, it will not be visible to the eye. After its consolidation it manifests itself in the external world. When it dissolves, can one say that it becomes nothingness?” Many of the principles of Chinese Medicine actually derive from Zhang’s thoughts.

Chinese Medicine is characterized by polarism rather than dualism. The major principles in the theory of Chinese Medicine, Yin and Yang, Hot and Cold, Deficiency and Excess, and Interior and Exterior are indeed opposites. However, they are opposites but manifestations of the same process. As mentioned earlier, nothing is lost, just transformed. One cannot exist without the other and it can only be defined in reference to its opposite. Interesting to note is that from the Confucian philosophy view, an individual cannot be defined by itself but rather as a part of its family and community.

Conclusion

The Confucian influence on Chinese Medicine is probably more significant than that of Daoism. The integration of physical and emotional levels is at the core of this philosophy. Chinese Medicine does not view the soul as something that “animates” the body but rather the same thing at different degrees of concentration. The body and the spirit are different manifestations of Qi, the body being more condensed while the spirit more rarified. This highlights a fundamental quality of Chinese Medicine – the unity of body and spirit, which is of major clinical importance.

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References and Sources:

Maciocia, G. (2009). The Psyche in Chinese Medicine. Churchill Livingstone: New York.

Read more articles by Dr Damiana at http://www.elitehealthplex.com/articles.html.

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To Sit In the Source of Being Is Self-inquiry: By Dr. Raju

drraju — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 16:21:44 +0000

Dr. Raju

Mind is not a thing. It is a process of minding, thinking. Its basic nature is to fragment the consciousness.

Mind is a like a crowd of politicians giving many self contradictory speeches at the same time. This crowd in the mind is not a fixed crowd but a changing crowd.

Thought is an acquired process. It is not our innate nature. That is why there are no thoughts in deep sleep state. Thoughts of belonging to a family, race, nationality, religion, profession, caste, creed, cult etc are just utilitarian in nature.

Mind is a byproduct of upbringing, conditioning, education, culture. Basically mind is an acquisition of habits and identifying with them and then think we are that stuff.

If mind is in a state of thinking, consciousness in it becomes opaque, non-transparent,

just like on a cloudy day, you cannot see the blue sky. When the clouds are not, you can see the sky. If we carefully observe we will come to know that when one thought passes and before another thought is yet to come there is an interval. That is the sky of consciousness.

In that interval, in that gap you can feel the natural state of our witnessing consciousness. But for many thoughts are so speedy that they cannot feel the gap between one thought and the another.

In Self-inquiry thought process is slowed down and we begin to feel the gaps. So in Self-inquiry there is a fight for our innate nature of witnessing consciousness against our mental habits. Self-inquiry helps us to put aside the mental habits. It helps us that which is natural to us, real “I’.

Thinking belongs to the mind and witnessing is our innate nature.

So we cannot do both simultaneously. Thinking must cease for the witnessing consciousness to be. Only through witnessing we reach the reality.

Self-inquiry cannot have a fixed path for investigation.It is just like driving a car in a busy city during rush hour and we have to find the gaps to drive the car. Similarly in Self-inquiry we have to be alert to find the gaps between thoughts and in the interval between when mind changes from one mode to another during transitional state. Only then “being” can happen through witnessing.

We cannot both sit and run with our legs at same time. Similarly we cannot think and witness at same time simultaneously.

That is the art of Self-inquiry. We don’t run after our thoughts but we sit safely in the source of being which is our Self.

Raw, Vegan, Live Food, Part – 1: By Cyndi Dodick

Cyndi — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:30:28 +0000

The raw food movement is “mushrooming” as classes and events are “sprouting” up across the globe, “cultivating” a large number of raw-curious people wondering why any sane person would cease to cook their food. This article is meant to “plant a seed” of basic reasons why one might consider including a greater number of foods in their natural state of grace and in part two, why becoming vegan is the only option for healing our planet, whether we choose cooked or raw.

Our food choices affect not just our own vessel, our food choices affect the vibration of the planet as a whole. Part One of this article will address our physical bodies and the benefits a plant based diet have to offer us. Part two will shed light on the cost to the planet and our higher selves when we choose to use animal products for our sustenance.

SO WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

How about a longer, healthier life?

Check this out…..

Clearly a plant based diet affords some protection against these two major killers.

A great book on the subject is called The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell. Dr. Campbell report on the single largest nutritional study ever undertaken that reveals just how a high animal protein diet actually feeds and fosters cancer growth.

When we simplify our diet to include only fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, we embrace the most nutrient dense food on the planet! Yes, it’s true….

Vegetables have the highest percentage of minerals per calorie of any class of foods.
and
Fruits have the highest percent of vitamins per calorie of any class of foods.
Raw, unadulterated foods retain ALL of their Vitamins, Minerals, Phytonutrients and Enzymes. Enzymes are there so that we can utilize all these wonderful nutrients and health is pretty much covered!

Enzymes are necessary for every action and reaction that occurs in our body. Blink! you had to have enzymes to do it. Breathe! Enzymes have it covered. Talk, move, think, dance, you guessed it! You can thank enzymes for doing their part. Every vitamin or mineral must have an enzyme tied to it to be assimilated. Every living thing contains not only the enzymes to continue and enhance life, but also to break it down once life is no longer present.
“And unto dust you shall return” …. We return with the help of enzymes.

Sadly these superheros have a weakness. Heat. Enzymes are “denatured” or destroyed when food is heated above about 118 degrees F. and there is not a lot of wiggle room here. Enzymes are rather delicate and do their best work at about body temperature. All cooked and processed foods are devoid of any enzymes. Our body has to make up for this lack and it does, by producing digestive enzymes from the pancreas and liver. Digestive enzymes are made up of metabolic enzymes put together. It takes 10 metabolic enzymes to create just one digestive enzyme, so you body has to work overtime to digest cooked food. For that reason, as we age, more and more of our energy reserves go toward digesting the food we eat instead of toward dancing or biking or hiking or sitting in meditation or chanting or shoveling snow.

Increased vitality is a great reason to choose raw. As we age, up to 70% of our energy is used to digest out food. Ingesting whole foods allows for calorie reduction because of the nutrient density. Less really is more.

Another important consideration is the body’s pH balance. Our body is able to assimilate minerals and nutrients properly only when its pH is balanced. We heal when the body is alkaline, our life is acidic. The air we breath, the stress we feel, and most of the food we eat all push us toward acidity. Raw, fresh green food is alkalizing, most fruits and vegetables are alkalizing. Yum. Meat and alcohol, artificial sweeteners, cheese, sour cream and all processed foods acidify us. Vegan 2 / Animal Products 0

Hydration is another key component in health. Check out the book Your Body’s Many Cries for Water by F. Batmanghelidj. The body can last up to six weeks without food, but only about a week without water.

Water carries nutrients and oxygen to all cells in the body and helps convert food into energy. Water protects and cushions vital organs and lubricates joints. The human body is about 66% water, muscles are 70-75% water, our lungs are 90% water and our brain is 95% water. Fruits & Vegetables are easy hydrators as they are almost 95% water!

Fiber causes food to move through our system at a faster rate. Toxins, if present, have lass time to infiltrate our system. Fructose which is in over 70% of processed foods as High Fructose Corn Syrup (or liquid death) is processed in our liver much like alcohol. In Nature, God made sure it occurred with glucose (the good sweet) and a lot of fiber. As man adulterates our food, adding fructose and removing fiber, less and less nutrition is present. Fruits Vegetables nuts and seeds are rich with fiber. Meat has no fiber. Vegan 3 / Animal Products 0

Weight Loss (or Gain) is a pleasant side effect of choosing this path because as our body is flooded with nutrients, it reawakens it’s internal wisdom and normalizes weight. If you need to gain, you will gain, if you need to shed pounds, off they go.

These are a few reasons to consider incorporating more raw food into your diet. And there’s more……

The “Glow” Fritz-Albert Popp is a biophysicist who confirmed the emission of biophotons (“ultraweak” photon emissions from living tissues). Popp showed that wild grown food had twice the amount of biophotons than organic and organic had five times the biophoton emmision that commercially grown food had. Cooked food had ZERO. This is measurable. The healthier the person, the greater the biophoton emissions. The average person eating junk food had about 1000 units of Biophoton emissions. The average baby about 43,000 the average plant-based person 43,000, the average person eating live foods about 83,000. One person who ate mainly wild-crafted herbs and who fasted regularly measured 114,000! We are light beings, when we ingest food with light, we emit more light. This is huge! We eat the plants and we incorporate their light and then we emit it! Raw foodies appear to have a “glow because the are really “glowing”. They are actually emitting more light! Wow. It’s an easy jump to what that might do for meditation and the health and connection of our spirit bodies. Raw food supports us as Light Beings!

Ahimsa. In the next article, I will touch on the many reasons we must choose a vegan diet (raw is optional here) in order to reduce violence and increase vibration. Mother Earth is crying for our help. The numbers are daunting. Stay tuned.

Restorative Bridge Pose: By Christine Wushke

Christine Wushke — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:12:00 +0000

This is a wonderful restorative yoga pose for times when energy feels low, or sluggish. This pose is very relaxing, and yet leaves you feeling refreshed and rested after just a few moments.

1. Stack 2 or 3 blankets, and place them about 2 feet from the wall. (or closer of your legs are shorter) Place 2 blocks, or a few books against the wall.

2. Sit in the center of the blankets, and place your feet on the blocks. Lie down so that your shoulder blades are on the floor, your heels are on the blocks, and the soles of your feet are on the wall. You may need to adjust the distance from the wall a few times to get yourself in the right position. The neck should feel very comfortable, with no pressure on it at all.

3. Stay here for about 3 min or longer (if you are very relaxed and comfortable) letting yourself relax deeply into the pose. Imagine that you are drawing nourishment into the body on your inhales, and letting the body sink deeply into the pose on your exhales. Let your brain soften, your eyes relax, and your breath move into a slow and even rhythm.

4. When you feel complete with the pose, roll to your right side and rest for a moment before sitting up.

Benefits: Strengthens parasympathetic nervous system, increased relaxation, increases oxygenation of blood, improved mental clarity, uplifts mood, and improves quality of sleep, increases circulation in the thyroid gland, aids in balancing hormones.

For a more in depth guide to Yoga, and how it can be integrated into your lifestyle, check out the yoga E-Books here.

Christine Wushke is a certified yoga and meditation teacher with over 15 years of experience. Her aim is to create a sacred space for students to effortlessly find the presence of stillness and an inner silence. Christine’s mission is to raise consciousness on the planet by empowering people to realize their own Divinity and to uncover a deep peace within. Christine is committed to assisting you in your journey, and helping you to realize directly for yourself the truth of what you are, and the stillness of truth within. In addition to her yoga and meditation training, Christine is also a registered massage therapist.

www.journeytolight.net
www.innerlightyoga.blogspot.com

written and modeled by Christine Wushke, Photo’s by Dianne Wushke.

How Simple and Natural Food Changes Your Life: by Dr. Damiana Corca

Dr Damiana — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:54:04 +0000

After a two-month break from my writing, here I am, ready to share with you brand new ideas and thoughts. On a more personal note, my husband and I have recently moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee and we are excited to let you know that we will open the Elite HealthPlex Clinic here in Chattanooga, late this fall.

This article was inspired by the mountains and rich nature where our farm is located. Next spring is going to be a full and busy one for me, as I plan to have a relatively big garden, enough to grow most of the vegetables that one needs for a self-sustainable life. The following thoughts are just what I needed to reinforce this decision – the desire for fresh, organic, healthy food.

Food can bring delightful tastes and much pleasure but it can also govern and control your life. Nothing wrong with enjoying food but mind you, when highly processed food is part of your diet, addiction follows fast.

I have been a healthy eater for as long as I can remember. But I still enjoy a tasty bar of chocolate, love bread and, am a bit addicted to cheese. Growing up in a farm leaves traces behind – beautiful, clean memories. The bread came from our own wheat and the cheese was made weekly by my mother. Getting back to our roots is what we need today.

Anyways, despite my good habits I have recently learnt a lesson. I decided to follow a program that I often recommend to my patients – a 21-day program that combines lifestyle and diet changes and organic whole food supplements that help purify and give your body a kick to start the healing process.

The diet consists of vegetables and fruit, lentils or wild/brown rice combined with a few teaspoonfuls of oil a day and lots of water. Nature at its highest power! It pushes one to try new vegetables and new ways of combining them. I have learnt to cook different soups that I would probably never have tried otherwise.

This leaves ALL processed food behind – no bread or pasta, no dairy, no meat. Just pure, clean vegetables and fruits – so as to give your body a chance to focus less on digestion and more on healing. The program does allow eating organic, low fat meat from the 11th day up, however this is a personal choice. Whole food vegetable protein such as whey is offered to supplement the protein needs for these 21 days.

The supplements added to this diet are made of organic, whole food preparations, to aid and stimulate the function of the Liver, Kidneys, and Intestines. Ultimately, food is what can bring healing and long-term results.

Why do we need this kind of changes in our diet? Because there are approximately 80,000 synthetic chemicals registered for use in the U.S. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that there are hundreds of these chemicals present in our bodies. They are everywhere, from air and water, cosmetics, household cleaning products to pesticides and herbicides that ultimately end up in our food.

Before I tell you the benefits of this program, I will share with you my experience. It literally changed my life and taught me how shifting priorities can make you a different person. This reminded me of the time when I started meditating and had this amazing insight – life is never the same after you experience the silence and the love you feel when allowing your heart to speak. This clean, pure, simple diet did something similar. And I believe that this is something to be expected. We are a whole; we should not separate the body from soul. Goethe wisely said: “Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded. “

And yes, many patients loose weight, health problems start improving, there is increased energy, and digestion gets better, along with clearer skin and other benefits depending on each person.

This is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. A 21-day journey is long enough to build new, better habits, by substituting the old ones. It gives you a chance to realize that simple food can really be tasty. Through these simple choices you will reeducate your tastes. You will discover that coconut oil can be as tasty as butter, but with the better health benefits. Your taste buds will me amazed to discover the real taste of a salad. Olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and a bit of salt are enough to make a great salad without overwhelming it with a heavy, high calorie dressing.

You only need to dare try it! Let the joy of simple food become a part of your life. There is always a choice and a wide range of different possibilities. One of my previous articles entitled “Eating Healthier Just Got Easier” can bring more ideas for you to make that shift.

Be Healthy and Happy!

By Dr. Damiana Corca, DOM, AP, Dipl. C.H. & O.M.

Check more of my articles at: Elite HealthPlex Clinic

________________________

Disclaimer

Book Review of _The Blue Zones_: by Dr. Gregg Carter

Gregg Carter — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:02:02 +0000

Dan Buttner’s The Blue Zones (National Geographic Society, 2008) is a great read for those wanting to keep up with the science of aging but not wanting to read the associated academic journals. In the early 2000s, the National Geographic Society sent a team of longevity experts to those 4 slender geographic areas of the world where people are much more likely to attain the age of 100, in good health, than all other places on earth. The areas are Loma Linda, CA, USA (virtually all 7th-Day Adventists); the Nicoyan peninsula in Costa Rica; the interior hill country of Sardinia; and the northern interior of Okinawa. Though difficult to parse out, the teams found commonalities among these 4 Blue Zones and assessed that longevity was a function of these factors:

· genetics (but only about 25% of the equation, as shown through studies of identical twins);

· diet and exercise (about 25% of the equation—virtually all of the centenarians they studied were lean, active, had a mainly plant-based diet; and all ate until they were not hungry—as opposed to eating until they were full [a significant difference … as the former involves relatively small meals]); their active lives involved being outside in the sunshine on a daily basis [part of the effects of the sun on longevity is attributed to its being a rich source of vit. D, which has recently been linked to a variety of diseases, including cancer: the less vit. D, the more likely to incur disease]; and

· sociology / psychology (50%).

Regarding the last of these, they all were embedded in respectful, caring social networks—involving family and friendships—and they had spent a lifetime investing themselves in these relationships, with their time, energy, and emotion. They all lived for the day—and did not fret about not being invited to a party last week, or whether they would be invited to such-and-such-a party week after next. They all had a good sense of humor—that tended toward the sardonic (indeed, “sardonic” comes from the type of humor found on the island of Sardinia). They all had a purposeful life—and could tell you in an instant what that purpose(s) was (were). They all were spiritual—they all took time at least once a week, more commonly daily, to reflect on the gift of life, how wondrous it can be; none prayed for a “long life,” but most arose with a simple prayer each morning—“thank you God, for another day.”

The Blue Zones project still continues, with a new “Blue Zone” recently identified as the Greek island of Icaria:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103744881

To find out more about the findings of the Blue Zones project, see:

http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/live-longer-dan-buettner-text

To your health!
Gregg Carter

http://web.bryant.edu/~gcarter/

Frank Shearer at age 99, who has been water skiing since age 30

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