We are not all the same.

Cont'd from Everyone is Different.

Lyle (McDonald) brought the following study to my attention to illustrate that "We are not all the same":- Some Metabolic Changes Induced by Low Carbohydrate Diets. On a very-low-carb diet, one subject’s total cholesterol rose to 12.9mmol/L (500mg/dL in US units). The others didn't.
See also LDL cholesterol goes sky high on fatty diet.

I posted the study in various blogs to make the above point. Here are some of the replies I got:-
"Lyle? Lyle McDonald? Is that where you got that study, Nigel?" and... "I’m usually a pretty polite guy, Nigel. But based on this quote from the beginning of the study you mentioned, the people who wrote this study were a bunch of f**kwads, and really don’t deserve our attention. It’s a hatchet job."
"That was a weird study (1967) what I could make of it." and... "The men did all the stages but the women only did 3 stages of the diet."
"The fats were mostly omega-6 PUFA 13-35 grams worth..."
"The report you cite is so old and out of date that it makes me cry..."

My point was well & truly missed. I got the distinct impression that people thought I was criticising very-low-carb, high-fat diets. I wasn't. The simple fact is that there is no "One True Diet" that suits absolutely everybody. In the olden days everywhere & in poor countries nowadays, people that ate/eat the wrong diet for their body died/die young. Nowadays in rich countries, they get put on drugs e.g. oral hypoglycaemics (to lower blood glucose) & hypolipidaemics (to lower blood cholesterol/triglycerides).

Please note that omega-6 PUFAs tend to lower serum cholesterol rather than raise it, as per Fig. 2 of Types of Dietary Fat and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Critical Review. However, don't rush off and eat shed-loads of omega-6 PUFA (e.g. corn oil) in the mistaken belief that it will make you live any longer. See (1971) Incidence of cancer in men on a diet high in polyunsaturated fat - Pearce.

Finally, for a little light relief, here is the latest result for Google Fight between "Healthy "low-fat diet"" and "Healthy "low-carb diet"". Oh, YES!

Cont'd on Everyone is Different, Part 2.

Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Tender, delicious gluten-free soda bread.

As with anything in life, you get a little, you lose a little.

I just wish Mother Nature would reverse the getting and losing when it comes to life post-menopause, Darling. I'm losing on top where I've never been particularly gifted, if you know what I mean. I buy bras in the teen section because the only adult bras that fit me are those pull-over-your-head uniboob running bras and Ladies, come on. These tight little torturers (once you squeeze into them, which could take a good seven minutes; I timed it once) are, shall we say, less than inspiring. If you're over a certain age and so is your husband, you know what I'm talking about.

So I'm losing oomph there and I'm gaining in the new mid-section of me I like to call Doris because it somehow seems appropriate. These love handles deserve a name, after all. A retro name like Kitty or Patty or Madge. Because they're evidently not intent upon leaving. They insist they're here to stay.

So since Doris won't go away, I try to coax her to skedaddle by eating lots of lettuce. And a rice cake or two. I tell myself, Bunny food rocks! But I lose even more of my boobs when I eat this way.

And Doris still sticks around.

Which brings me to bread. (What midriff conversation doesn't?) In this case, Irish soda bread. Yep. The classic, yeast-free quick bread. I'm not gonna give up a bread this delicious. Even for Doris. I'll just have to run up and down the block. A lot. In between taking iPhotos with my iPhone. That's my plan anyway.

That should work, right?

Read more + get the recipe >>

Corn Oil and Cancer?

The benefits of corn oil keep rolling in. In a new study by Stephen Freedland's group at Duke, feeding mice a diet rich in butter and lard didn't promote the growth of transplanted human prostate cancer cells any more than a low-fat diet (1).

Why do we care? Because other studies, including one from the same investigators, show that corn oil and other industrial seed oils strongly promote prostate cancer cell growth and increase mortality in similar models (2, 3).

From the discussion section:

Current results combined with our prior results suggest that lowering the fat content of a primarily saturated fat diet offers little survival benefit in an intact or castrated LAPC-4 xenograft model. In contrast to the findings when omega-6 fats are used, these results raise the possibility that fat type may be as important as fat amount or perhaps even more important.

There's a large body of evidence implicating excess omega-6 fat in a number of cancer models. Reducing omega-6 to below 4% of calories has a dramatic effect on cancer incidence and progression*. In fact, there have even been several experiments showing that butter and other animal fats promote cancer growth to a lesser degree than margarine and omega-6-rich seed oils. I discussed that here.


* The average American eats 7-8% omega-6 by calories. This means it will be difficult to see a relationship between omega-6 intake and cancer (or heart disease, or most things) in observational studies in the US or other industrial nations, because we virtually all eat more than 4% of calories as omega-6. Until the 20th century, omega-6 intake was below 4%, and usually closer to 2%, in some traditional societies. That's where it remains in contemporary traditional societies unaffected by industrial food habits, such as Kitava.

Things that make you go pink.

Strenuous exercise. Alcohol. High-dose Niacin. All of these things make you go pink. All of these things are also good for your heart & circulation. As I mentioned in Red, red wine and very sharp pointy things, one glass of red wine significantly lowered my blood pressure in less than 10 minutes, probably by making my arteries dilate (which made me go pink) and by reducing my mental stress which lowered my stress hormone levels.

According to JBS2 guidelines (which I don't fully agree with), CVD risk factor increases with increasing blood pressure. It also increases with increasing TC:HDL ratio. What increases HDL? Things that make you go pink. What we now need is a study showing the effects of blushing on the risk factors for CVD!

Magnesium and Insulin Sensitivity

From a paper based on US NHANES nutrition and health survey data (1):

During 1999–2000, the diet of a large proportion of the U.S. population did not contain adequate magnesium... Furthermore, racial or ethnic differences in magnesium persist and may contribute to some health disparities.... Because magnesium intake is low among many people in the United States and inadequate magnesium status is associated with increased risk of acute and chronic conditions, an urgent need exists to perform a current survey to assess the physiologic status of magnesium in the U.S. population.

Magnesium is an essential mineral that many people apparently don't get enough of. One of the many things it's necessary for in mammals is proper insulin sensitivity and glucose control. A loss of glucose control due to insulin resistance can eventually lead to diabetes and all its complications.

Magnesium status is associated with insulin sensitivity (2, 3), and a low magnesium intake predicts the development of type II diabetes in most studies (4, 5) but not all (6). Magnesium supplements largely prevent diabetes in a rat model* (7). Interestingly, excess blood glucose and insulin themselves seem to reduce magnesium status, possibly creating a vicious cycle.

In a 1993 trial, a low-magnesium diet reduced insulin sensitivity in healthy volunteers by 25% in just four weeks (8). It also increased urinary thromboxane concentration, a potential concern for cardiovascular health**.

At least three trials have shown that magnesium supplementation increases insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant diabetics and non-diabetics (9, 10, 11). In some cases, the results were remarkable. In type II diabetics, 16 weeks of magnesium supplementation improved fasting glucose, calculated insulin sensitivity and HbA1c*** (12). HbA1c dropped by 22 percent.

In insulin resistant volunteers with low blood magnesium, magnesium supplementation for four months reduced estimated insulin resistance by 43 percent and decreased fasting insulin by 32 percent (13). This suggests to me that magnesium deficiency was probably one of the main reasons they were insulin resistant in the first place. But the study had another very interesting finding: magnesium improved the subjects' blood lipid profile remarkably. Total cholesterol decreased, LDL decreased, HDL increased and triglycerides decreased by a whopping 39 percent. The same thing had been reported in the medical literature decades earlier when doctors used magnesium injections to treat heart disease, and also in animals treated with magnesium. Magnesium supplementation also suppresses atherosclerosis (thickening and hardening of the arteries) in animal models, a fact that I may discuss in more detail at some point (14, 15).

In the previous study, participants were given 2.5 g magnesium chloride (MgCl2) per day. That's a bit more than the USDA recommended daily allowance (MgCl2 is mostly chloride by weight), in addition to what they were already getting from their diet. Most of a person's magnesium is in their bones, so correcting a deficiency by eating a nutritious diet may take a while.

Speaking of nutritious diets, how does one get magnesium? Good sources include halibut, leafy greens, chocolate and nuts. Bone broths may also be a source of magnesium. Whole grains and beans are also fairly good sources, while refined grains lack most of the magnesium in the whole grain. Organic foods, particularly artisanally produced foods from a farmer's market, are richer in magnesium because they grow on better soil and often use older varieties that are more nutritious.

The problem with seeds such as grains, beans and nuts is that they also contain phytic acid which prevents the absorption of magnesium and other minerals (16). Healthy non-industrial societies that relied on grains took great care in their preparation: they soaked them, often fermented them, and also frequently removed a portion of the bran before cooking (17). These steps all served to reduce the level of phytic acid and other anti-nutrients. I've posted a method for effectively reducing the amount of phytic acid in brown rice (18). Beans should ideally be soaked for 24 hours before cooking, preferably in warm water.

Industrial agriculture has systematically depleted our soil of many minerals, due to high-yield crop varieties and the fact that synthetic fertilizers only replace a few minerals. The mineral content of foods in the US, including magnesium, has dropped sharply in the last 50 years. The reason we need to use fertilizers in the first place is that we've broken the natural nutrient cycle in which minerals always return to the soil in the same place they were removed. In 21st century America, minerals are removed from the soil, pass through our toilets, and end up in the landfill or in waste water. This will continue until we find an acceptable way to return human feces and urine to agricultural soil, as many cultures do to this day****.

I believe that an adequate magnesium intake is critical for proper insulin sensitivity and overall health.


* Zucker rats that lack leptin signaling

** Thromboxane A2 is an omega-6 derived eicosanoid that potently constricts blood vessels and promotes blood clotting. It's interesting that magnesium has such a strong effect on it. It indicates that fatty acid balance is not the only major influence on eicosanoid production.

*** Glycated hemoglobin. A measure of the average blood glucose level over the past few weeks.

**** Anyone interested in further reading on this should look up The Humanure Handbook

Lindeberg on Obesity

I'm currently reading Dr. Staffan Lindeberg's magnum opus Food and Western Disease, recently published in English for the first time. Dr. Lindeberg is one of the world's leading experts on the health and diet of non-industrial cultures, particularly in Papua New Guinea. The book contains 2,034 references. It's also full of quotable statements. Here's what he has to say about obesity:

Middle-age spread is a normal phenomenon - assuming you live in the West. Few people are able to maintain their [youthful] waistline after age 50. The usual explanation - too little exercise and too much food - does not fully take into account the situation among traditional populations. Such people are usually not as physically active as you may think, and they usually eat large quantities of food.

Overweight has been extremely rare among hunter-gatherers and other traditional cultures [18 references]. This simple fact has been quickly apparent to all foreign visitors...

The Kitava study measured height, weight, waist circumference, subcutaneous fat thickness at the back of the upper arm (triceps skinfold) and upper arm circumference on 272 persons ages 4-86 years. Overweight and obesity were absent and average [body mass index] was low across all age groups. ...no one was larger around their waist than around their hips.

...The circumference of the upper arm [mostly indicating muscle mass] was only negligibly smaller on Kitava [compared with Sweden], which indicates that there was no malnutrition. It is obvious from our investigations that lack of food is an unknown concept, and that the surplus of fruits and vegetables regularly rots or is eaten by dogs.

The Population of Kitava occupies a unique position in the world in terms of the negligible effect that the Western lifestyle has had on the island.

The only obese Kitavans Dr. Lindeberg observed were two people who had spent several years off the island living a modern, urban lifestyle, and were back on Kitava for a visit.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a scholarly interest in health and nutrition, and somewhat of a background in science and medicine. It's extremely well referenced, which makes it much more valuable.

Natural & synthetic disaccharides.

As mentioned in Carbohydrates: Dogs' Doodads or Spawn of Satan?, there are three common disaccharides, sucrose (table sugar), lactose (milk sugar) and maltose (beer sugar). These all contain a molecule of glucose linked by a glycosidic bond to molecules of fructose, galactose and glucose respectively. In our bodies, our guts contain the enzymes sucrase, lactase & maltase which hydrolyse the glycosidic bond breaking the disaccharides into their constituent monosaccharides. People who lack any of these enzymes are unable to break the disaccharide into monosaccharides. As disaccharides are not absorbed, they pass along the gut until they reach the colon, where colonic bacteria ferment the disaccharides into short-chain fatty acids and gas. This increases ammonia levels in the colon which attracts water. End result: Lots of gas, soft poo and the excretion of ammonia (nitrogenous waste).

There's a synthetic disaccharide called lactulose, which is a disaccharide of fructose and galactose. As our bodies don't contain the enzyme lactulase, lactulose is fermented, producing lots of gas & soft poo. I thought I'd post about this as I'm taking lactulose to prevent the constipation caused by high dose Co-Codamol, the pain-killer I'm on while my 4-inch scar heals. It works!

An interesting but otherwise useless fact: The artificial sweetener sucralose that's made from & is about 600 times sweeter than sugar has the chemical name 1,6-Dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-β-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-deoxy-α-D-galactopyranoside (I'm nerdy enough to know that by heart!). Sucralose has a structure like lactulose rather than sucrose, which has the chemical name β-D-fructofuranosyl-(2→1)-α-D-glucopyranoside. As the amount of sucralose used is about one 600th that of sucrose, it doesn't cause the above effects.

Gluten-Free Multi-Grain Crackers

Company worthy gluten-free olive oil multi-grain crackers.

This is a light, pleasantly crisp cracker that is flaky and tender- and you won't believe it's gluten-free and vegan. The texture is so elegant. Yet. The flavor retains an earthy touch of rustic, with a hint of... Dude. Cue soft focus. Suddenly I feel as if I'm in a varietal wine commercial, tossing my hair back (if I had tossable tresses, that is and not a sensible cheek length bob that refuses to toss) and laughing just so- with a tableaux of my closest, dearest multicultural friends, of course- revealing a gleaming set of perfectly capped teeth as I raise a globe of pinot noir into the rosy glow of a Napa Valley sunset to convey The Good Life.

The life without chin hairs and medical bills and neighbors who don't recycle.

All kidding aside (I don't sport a tableaux of polo shirt wearing best friends and I've never been to Napa Valley or for that matter, capped my teeth or Botoxed my frown lines leaving the perfect hint of crow's feet to crinkle when I smile so that you don't notice my eyebrows are frozen back to 1985) I  just might bake up a batch of these tasty crackers for Oscar night, whip up some Roasted Eggplant Tapenade and pop open a bottle of lovely Veuve Clicquot Brut.

Uh oh.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Day 131

Thoughts: Are You Constipated?

Many people don’t even know they’re constipated. Having bowel movements several times per week or even once a day doesn’t necessarily mean your colon is healthy. Do you ever have bowel movements that are difficult to pass or do you often have to strain to go? When your colon is compacted, there can be very little room for waste to pass. When your colon is cleaner from an effective bowel cleanse, however, bowel movements can be almost effortless.

People who have experienced bowel cleansing are often startled at the amount of waste they can flush out. Some people pass mucous and mucoid plaque as well, and others have even been astonished to find “unidentifiable objects” in the toilet bowel. Let’s just say, you can get rid of some unwanted guests that may inhabit your digestive tract if you eliminate the waste in which they reside.

Many people completing a bowel cleanse report losing weight and a flatter abdomen for the first time in years due to getting rid of several pounds worth of waste. Regular bowel movements, cleaner feeling skin, brighter appearing eyes, reduced aches and pains, and better tolerance to foods can be experienced from taking better care of your body.

Dr. Mauro's 30-Second Test to Find Out if Your Colon is Becoming a Cesspool of Toxins...

Number of Bowel Movements - The Severity of Your Constipation
-4 or more times a day Your stools are too loose, you may be suffering from diarrhea. You should see a health care professional, such as a Naturopathic Doctor, to help correct this situation. This site and most of the information it contains is NOT for you.
-3 times a day It doesn’t sound like you are suffering from constipation, unless your stools are very hard and painful to pass.
-1-2 times a day You're doing well, but three times a day would be optimal — especially if you are straining on the toilet. Three times per day ensures that nothing is staying in you any longer than it should. I recommend you try Dr. Mauro's free email series to help get you up to 3 times a day.
-Every other day This won't do. Waste needs to pass within 24 hours. Food is coming in quicker than it is departing — bloating and gas are the result. Since your condition isn't extreme, taking the free email series and applying the strategies from 27 Constipation Relief Strategies for Women should be all you need to clear things up for you, fast.
-1-3 times a week You urgently need to get your bowels more regular, ASAP. Food waste is literally rotting inside your gut and turning into a stagnant cesspool of toxins that may not only be damaging your colon but backing up into every cell in your body. I strongly encourage you to take the free email series and start applying the strategies from Dr. Mauro's collection of 27 Constipation Relief Strategies for Women immediately.
-3 times or less per month You are suffering from severe constipation. This can lead to many other serious diseases including colon cancer. Your immediate symptoms of discomfort are only warning signs. Not only should you immediately sign up for the free email series and download a copy of 27 Constipation Relief Strategies for Women... I'd also strongly encourage you to setup an appointment with a local Naturopathic Doctor.

http://www.colon-cleanse-constipation.com/bowel-cleanse.html
http://www.constipationreliefforwomen.com/index.html?gclid=CMjd1pnHpaACFRsbswodP2EEaA

Challenges: If I eat too many nuts my poops are a little harder to push out! hehe! I do like it when they come out simple and smooth ;)

Triumphs: I poop at least 2 times a day :)

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: An apple. Green grapes. An organge.

Lunch: Raw brocoli. Cooked beans from the roadside diner in Alabama ;) Alfalfa sprouts.

Dinner: Avocado with mixed sprouts and walnuts.

Dessert: Chocolate balls with avocado.

Snacks: An apple. Chocolate balls.

Exercise: Running up and down the hill in the woods for shooting the film "The Man In The Maze". It was fun physical activity! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Man-in-the-Maze-Movie/275214654765?ref=ts

PHOTO OF CAST AND CREW FILMING THE MAN IN THE MAZE

234 days to go!

Day 130

Thoughts: Bowel cleanse.

My naturopath said to me once "There is no point eating healthy food if you have an unclean bowel". I was like say whaaaa??? Imagine a bike tyre (your bowels) and stuck to the wall of th tyre is black sludge. When you put food down the pipe, absolutely no nutrients are being absorbed by the bowel wall. So even if you are eating gorgeous fruits and vegetables the black sludge is preventing your body from actually absorbing the goodness. The good news is you can get rid of the black sludge. And yes unless you have had a bowel cleanse, or a colonic (a pipe in your bottom that pumps in water to flush your bowels), or you eat majority raw foods, you can asume you have that black sludge on your bowel walls...and check it out, the Egyptians performed colonics hundreds of years ago in the rivers using bamboo sticks (ouch) for a regular flush. I found some great articles on bowel cleansing...

Many people are discovering great physiological benefits can be derived from completing a thorough bowel cleanse, both in terms of physical and psychological health. Learning about methods for improving your health can give you a sense of empowerment.

Other people live blindly – eating all sorts of harmful foods without a second thought of the consequences. People might know certain foods are bad for them, but might not truly understand the enormity of the intended meaning. For example, a statement such as “bad for you” means to most people you shouldn’t eat this if you’re trying to lose weight or shouldn’t drink that because you have to work the next day. In all serious, if something is bad for you… it’s BAD for you and you shouldn’t eat it ever!

Many people, especially in Western civilization, suffer from a vast array of digestive diseases. A high fat, low fiber diet can leave you chronically constipated, perpetually bloated, and feeling like you can barely make it through the day. Many people don’t know what it’s like to live feeling fresh and healthy because they’re weighed down physically and mentally by the bad foods they eat. At this point, a bowel cleanse is probably wise.

Sadly, the more junk people eat, the more they crave. This deadly cycle of overeating and obesity with severe health consequences is spiraling out of control. These individuals seem to believe eating healthy would mean being “deprived” of taste or quality. A great many people ridicule health-minded individuals, referring to them as “skeletons”, “rabbits” (for eating lettuce and veggies), and “health-nuts”.

There is a growing backlash (encouraged by the junk and fast food industries) against being thin and healthy. People whom don’t have or want the motivation to discipline their diet often refer to models as having unattainable figures or not being healthy because they “don’t have any meat on their bones”. These people are so wrong.

Since when is it weird to take care of your body instead of abusing it? Does it sound more logical to not perform a regular bowel cleanse than to let your colon become all clogged up? Let me tell you something — you were not born with the body you have right now. Whether you are pleased with your appearance or not, you created the body you live in through your actions and choices.

Side effects of an unclean bowel can include:
Constipation
Bloating
Headaches
Stomachaches
Backaches
Skin Blemishes
General Listlessness
Foul Breath or Body Odor

When your intestines becomes dirty, it can lead to illness and negative health conditions throughout your entire body. Your digestive system also houses the majority of your immune system. Cleaning the garbage out of your digestive system can have a huge impact on how you feel, how you look, and how often you become ill.

How do you bowel cleanse?
I'm not going to suggest anything to you. Do your research. and then cleanse your bowel. Your bowels deserve it! And so do you! (hint: I get colonics) ;)

http://www.colon-cleanse-constipation.com/bowel-cleanse.html

Challenges: I would love a colonic right now...I'm not sure they have them here in Florence Alabama since they have just one small organic shop. I can feel when my body and bowels get full and toxic... gotta love a nice flush! hehe

Triumphs: I thought pooping once a day was a good and normal bowel movement...since doing bowel cleanses I poop regulary and I love it!

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: A ginger tea. A green apple. An orange.

Lunch: Cooked brown beans mmm mmm perfect for a chilly day in the Alabama woods ;) with avocado and spinach and lettuce salad.

Dinnner: an orange. grapes. Indian food, rice and dahl (lentils).

Dessert: No dessert.

Snacks: Chocolate balls with walnuts.

Exercise: A plyometrics workout! Ever done it? My first time today! I loved it! Google it ;) I had so much fun running and jumping around the town! (Florence, Alabama) Hehe :)

235 days to go!!!

Day 129

Thoughts: We all bleed the same colour.

What one person can do, anyone can do. What's within one of us, is within all of us. We bleed the same colour. There is no reason to think I can do this Earth Diet and you can't.

I get emails from people saying things like 'It would be awesome to do the Earth Diet but I can't because it's too hard'. Some people think being healthy equals suffering. If you want to challenge yourself, or feel an abundance of health, inner peace, joy, vitality, energy, love for yourself, connection, then take on the Earth Diet. Create a plan to what suits you, and also make it challenging. Even if you commit to one day a week eating only foods naturally provided by the earth. Challenge you. I guarantee you will experience aliveness :)

A quote by Gandhi "Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more
effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment."

Challenges: Dis-empowering thoughts.

Triumphs: Knowing that I am not the disempowering thought.

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Apple. Ginger tea. Orange.

Lunch: Cooked brown beans (not exactly sure what they were, but they were brown and grounding and warm mmm mmm) Chocolate balls with brazil nuts and walnuts.

Dinnner: Indian Dahl (lentils) and white rice.

Dessert: no dessert.

Snacks: A kiwi fruit. Half an orange.

Exercise: Working on set makin the movie "The Man In The Maze" www.themaninthemaze.net

236 days to go!!!

Day 128

Thoughts: Earth Diet reader Nick Dale suggested I do some research on food dehydration!!! Wooo wooo :)

Dehydration of food is one of the oldest methods of preserving food for later use. It can either be an alternative to canning and freezing or a compliment to these methods. With modern food dehydrators, drying food is simple, safe and easy to learn. Dried food is great in traditional cooking recipes and can save you a lot of time in the kitchen during meal preparation time. Dried foods are also ideal for camping and backpacking as they take up little weight or space and do not require refrigeration. Kids really love fruit leathers too, which make a healthy nutritious snack food. It sounds like a good idea for somewhere like where I am now, in Florence, Alabama USA (filming The Man In The Maze). It is cold weather so there aren't as many fruits and vegetables in season and the supermarkets are importing fruits and vegetables. So if they dried fruits in the summer, they could still eat them in the winter.

Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of microorganisms and hinders quality decay. Drying food using sun and wind to prevent spoilage has been practised since ancient times. Water is usually removed by evaporation (air drying, sun drying, smoking or wind drying) but, in the case of freeze-drying, food is first frozen and then the water is removed by sublimation. Bacteria yeasts and moulds need the water in the food to grow. Drying effectively prevents them from surviving in the food. There is, however, a loss of vitamin A and C in dried foods due to heat and air. It usually takes vegetables 6-16 hours to dry, and fruit 12-48 hours. One can dry fruit and vegetables, and make jerky and fruit leather.

You can dry: (for a full list visit the link below)
-seeds
-herbs
-fruits (you can make banana chips)
-meats (jerky)
-seeds
-popcorn
-vegetables

How do I dry?
-Choose Which Drying Method is Right For You
Sun Drying This is rather difficult because you need three to four sunny days of at least 100 degrees in a row.

Oven Drying Oven drying is an acceptable method of drying food, but it isn't very energy efficient, and foods aren't very flavorful in the end. If your oven cannot obtain temperatures below 200 degrees farenheit, use another method for food dehydration. You will need to prop open the oven door to maintain air circulation during the drying process.

Electric Dehydrating This is the best method of dehydrating food. An electric dehydrator is energy efficient and can be operated at low temperatures needed to maintain nutritive values in the food. Your electric food dehydrator should have some sort of heat control and a fan to maintain air circulation during the drying process.

What are other uses of a food dehydrator?
Besides being used during peak season to preserve food, a food dehydrator can be used for proofing breads, making yogurt or cheese, drying seeds, curing nuts, de-crystallizing honey and drying crafts.



For a whole list of fruits and vegetables that you can dry and how to do it for each individual item go to http://www.canningpantry.com/dehydration-of-food.html

For a recipe to make a fruit leather see below. (mmm mmm yummy snack!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_(food)
http://www.canningpantry.com/dehydration-of-food.html
http://farmgal.tripod.com/Dehydrate.html

Challenges: No challenges today on the Earth Diet :)

Triumphs: Sophia a beautiful princess working on "The Man In The Maze" and she came back from set today and told me that she ate a salad today instead of her usual lunch. She said it's only a little change, and I said A LITTLE CHANGE IT A BIG CHANGE!!! Love it :) Good on you girlfriend! ;)

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Orange. 1 avocado.

Lunch: Indian, rice with spices, tumeric, onion, potato, corriander. 1 avocado.

Dinnner: A salad with green lettuce leaves, spinach, avocado, alfalfa sprouts and a squeeze of lemon.

Dessert: chocolate balls with brazil nuts and walnuts.

Snacks: 2 apples.

Recipe: Fruit Leather is easy to make if you have a blender of food processor. The fruit leather is like a "fruit roll-up" and is made out of pureed fruit. Applesauce works great for fruit leather since it is already in puree form. Overripe fruits can also be used since these are easily pureed. For an added flare, you can add coconut,raisins,poppy seeds,seasame seeds, or sunflower seeds to the fruit leather. If you add any type of garnish to your fruit leather however, you will have to store them in the freezer or refrigerator. Otherwise, you can store fruit leather in an airtight container. Just roll up the fruit leather into a roll after it has dried, wrap in plastic, and store them altogether in an appropriate container.

To make fruit leather, puree your fruit. Apples, pears, peaches, and nectarines should be cooked before pureeing. Pour the fruit puree about 1/4-inch deep on special fruit leather drying sheets, or drying trays that have been lined with plastic wrap. Since the center does not dry as quickly as the edges, Only pour the puree 1/8-inch deep towards the center.Dry at 135 degrees Fahrenheit until pliable and leathery. The center should also be dry and have no wet or sticky spots.



Exercise: 50 minute spin class and 20 minutes working on abs and then in the steam room to sweat it out and stretch it out :) Yes I have a day off filming today and am loving warming my core at the gym ;)

237 days to go!!!

Day 127

Thoughts: WHERE IS THE EAGLE - GONE

I read this in a small diner in Alabama. Chief Seattle wrote this to President Franklin Pierce in 1855. As I re-wrote this just then for this blog, for you guys, I was moved and touched, and water came out of my eyes, it's called crying hehe, as I realized how insane us human beings are. And it's not good or bad or wrong or right, it is what it is, we have created the earth as it is, and we can re-create it however we want it. How do we want it?

The Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. How can you buy or sell the sky- the warmth of the land. The idea is strange to us. Yet we do not own the freshness of the air, or the sparkle of the water. How can you buy them from us. Every part of this earth is sacred to my people.

We know that white man does not understand our ways. One portion of the land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother but his enemy, and when he has conquered it he moves on. He leaves his fathers graves, and his children's birthright is forgotten.

There is no quiet place in the white man's cities. No place to hear the leaves of spring or the rustle of insect wings. But perhaps because I am savage and do not understand the clatter, it only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lovely cry of the whirppoorwill or the arguments of the frog around the pond at night.

The whites too, shall pass - perhaps sooner than the other tribes. Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. When the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses are tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men, and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires. Where is the thicket - gone - where is the eagle - gone - and what is it to say goodbye to the swift and the hunt.

THE END OF LIVING and THE BEGINNING OF SURVIVAL.

Chief Seattle
To President Franklin Pierce - 1855

Challenges: An insane species. The Earth provides us with everything we need as a species to survive. And we are destroying our planet. It is dying. Harsh, but true? We are provided with the freshest fruits and vegetables and yet we still create factories to produce cardboard foods that provide us with NO nutritional value what so ever. The majority of human beings are sick, un-present, depressed, and surviving. Merely exisiting.



Triumphs: Knowing that we can make a difference. We created this and can re create anything. Being able to make a difference. Being cause in the matter. Creating transformation.

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Green apple. Avocado.

Lunch: Grilled salmon. Walnuts. Brazil Nuts. Raw chocolate balls with coconut and goji berries.

Dinnner: 2 Avocados with walnuts. Brazil nuts. 3 orangies

Dessert: Chocolate balls.

Snacks: 4 nectarines.

Exercise: 1 hour pump class. 20 minutes in the cinema room running at Gold's gym in Florence, Alabama. The steam room mmm mmm! Oh guess what it was snowing this morning! I woke up and it was Christmas outside...snow flakes! So special!

238 days to go!!!

Day 124

Thoughts: The Importance Of Soil.

Earth Diet reader Yvonne Dale sent me the link for the Organic Guide (www.organicguide.com). It's brilliant. Especially this article on the importance of soil...

The life sustaining ability of soil is best understood by appreciating the complex cycles of decay and erosion. Its natural formation occurs in a series of layers starting at the surface but gradating down to the deepest bedrock. The surface layer is where active decomposition begins. Exposure to atmospheric elements, surface warmth and moisture helps to break organic matter into loose mulch like material. At the microscopic level, this layer is teeming with a diversity of bacterial, fungal and algal life forms. In combination with larger organisms like beetles and worms they provide the additional recycling activity to enable minerals and nutrients to be retrieved from the decaying organic matter and returned to the soil. Another family of soil based micro-organisms are involved in relationships that enable plants to absorb nitrogen from their roots.

Ideally the layer directly beneath the surface will be humus rich topsoil. The quality of this topsoil will depend on the amount of organic material available near the surface and the activity of the recycling organisms.

A coastal rainforest provides almost ideal conditions for the creation of richly fertile topsoil. With increased temperatures and humidity an abundance of organic material reaching the ground begins to decompose almost immediately. It is then broken down by organisms which thrive under the conditions. The entire process is accelerated resulting in a generous layer of finely blended topsoil.

A descent through deeper soil layers will reveal gradually decreasing quantities of humus before reaching the substratum of bedrock. Deep layers contribute to the surface quality of soil by providing mineral particles and compounds through erosion. The deep layers also support the structure of the soil by providing its foundation and drainage characteristics.

A technical analysis of structure can isolate the important layers of soil, their relationship to each other, aeration and drainage characteristics along with the mineral components characteristic to a particular location. It can also indicate the comparative rates and efficiency for recycling organic material. Information about structure will assist the serious gardener to predict how soils behave under varying seasonal conditions.

Soil type is a classification based on the major particle constituent along with the average pH reading. The most typical examples of soil type are sand, clay, and silt based. In some respects this information has limited value because soils tend to vary significantly across regions even when described to be of similar type. This is where an understanding of structure will provide a clearer picture.

From the perspective of the organic grower, good soil structures need to be protected. This can be achieved by minimising digging, replacing disrupted layers in their correct order when necessary and renewing surface layers by providing a supply of organic material such as compost and manure. The addition of organic material will improve the water and nutrient holding ability of the soil.

http://www.organicguide.com/gardening/basics/the-importance-of-soil

Challenges: Our soils have been so depleted that even eating fruits and vegetables are stripped of vitamins and minerals compared with eating them in different soils 50 years ago. People what are we doing to our soils???!!!

Triumphs: Day 124 on the Earth Diet yeah baby!!! So many things have opened up for me since starting this Earth Diet including connecting with myself and my body and nothing beats that feeling of being proud and in joy in myself when I got to bed at night. After all it's only me who has to live with me 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I better be my own best friend! The Earth Diet certainly has provided me with this. Especially being able to write this blog everyday, and this section "Triumphs" gives me the opportunity to think of something for the day that I can be grateful for :)

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: 2 nectarines.

Lunch: A salad with green lettuce and spinach and a squeeze of lemon. Chocolate balls.

Dinnner: 2 pears. Raw cauliflower (lovin my white curd friend ;))

Dessert: Chocolate balls.

Snacks: Damiania herbal tea ;)

Exercise: We had a day off from shooting today so I worked out at the Gold's Gym in Florence Alabama...mmm it was bliss ;) 20 minutes running on the treadmill and 20 minutes on the stepper in their cinema room, Tomb Raider was playing so I got to check out Angelina Jolie during the whole workout wooohooo! Hehe! And did any one else notice her ridiculous lopsided bra she had to wear that made her boobs look lopsided?!? And I went in the steam room ;) I am not usually excited about working out in the gym, butt it's so freezing here, so I'm either freezing cold on set, or I'm warm sitting in my room with heating, so to get out and sweat it out was amazing! Thankyou Gold's Gym!

241 days to go!!!

Day 125

Actor Erik A. Williams starts the Earth Diet tomorrow! He is ready for the challenge and to give up his life long diet of frozen and deep fried foods!

Thoughts: Actor Erik A.Williams is starring in "The Man In The Maze" and today on our way back from set he declared that he wanted to start the Earth Diet tomorrow which will be March 1st! Wow! I was so excited! To hear a human being making a stand for their life, and their health and wellbeing makes me glitter with joy! So I want to acknowledge you Erik for taking this courageous step into a new way of being...and get ready for an abundance of health...and the challenge of eating foods naturally provided to us from the Earth :) Good on you Erik! You are an inspiration :)

So I chatted with Erik about starting the Earth Diet...To watch our video interview go to.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxF_eASTbfU

What would you eat in your "ideal day?"
For breakfast I would eat blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and bacon. Pizza for lunch. Steak for dinner. Chocolate ice cream for dessert.

What did you eat today?
No breakfast. For lunch I ate chicken strips (frozen then deep fried) and french fries (fried) and a milky way (chocolate bar).

What foods have been regular in your diet?
I eat pasta, pizza, pork chops, chicken liver, fish squares, food that is frozen deep fried and quick, milk, cheese, chips, cakes, chocolates, candy and bread. When I work on a film set I eat fast foods. I have been eating like this my whole life.

What are your favourite foods?
Fried chicken and pizza.

What about fruit?
I've had one piece of fruit in the last week (a banana). If I eat more fruits my skin usually breaks out (the fruit would be detoxing all the crap out of his system). I have never had an avocado. I have had kiwi fruit probably 3 times in my life.

What about vegetables?
It's been a week since I ate vegetables.

Why do you want to do the Earth Diet?
I want to experience happiness, peace, feeling alive, vibrant, being energetic and being a powerful human being! To be honest I am scared to death about doing this Earth Diet, but I am not one to miss opportunities.

We are going to implement fruit into Eriks diet and he enjoys strawberries, pineapple, watermelon and kiwi fruit. Erik will be eating a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables and salads to fill his body with nutrients and vitamins. His body has been starving of this for years. Even if you just change one thing a day, eat one extra piece of fruit, or a raw vegetable, into your diet you will notice a difference! We will do regular blogs so you can follow his transformation ;)

Does Erik inspire you? This is a human being that is saying here is what I have been eating my entire life, I'm not ok with it anymore, and I'm ready to experience an abundance of health, vitality, energy and inner joy and glow!

Erik is swapping his favourite fried chicken for fresh fruit, vegetables and salad.

Challenges: When I was doing Erik's interview and he was telling me the food he has been eating for his entire life, I was shocked, and thinking we are going to have to retrain his whole entire life of eating from frozen, fast and fried foods, to fresh salads, fruits, vegetables, nuts and organic meats. This may be a challenge for Erik depending on how much he is craving a healthy body, and also for me in that I am working with a person here who has been eating certain foods for so long, now what can we do to make this work?

Triumphs: I love it when another being takes on the Earth Diet because they are up for a healthy, vibrant, exciting life! Wooo go Erik!

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Purple grapes. 1 nectarine. Ginger tea (I boiled ginger in water...perfect for warming the throat and killing any bacteria in your body). 1kiwi fruit.

Lunch: Cooked white beans and salad (carrot, green lettuce, celery, cucumber). 2 avocados with walnuts.

Dinnner: Raw cauliflower and 3 nectarines. I know, strange combo...but I am reading my script and writing this blog so I wanted something scrumptious and easy peasy maconeasy! wooo woo thats a dumb ryhme of mine if your wondering (its not a food!)(although maconeasy sounds like a yummy food!Hehe!).

Dessert: bed time!

Snacks: Chocolate balls with walnuts. 1 apple.

Exercise: Up at 5:20 am for hair and makeup then shooting "The Man In The Maze" in the cold Alabama woods...keepin my body warm is an exercise! Hehe!

240 days to go!!!

Day 126

Today I chatted with the beautiful being named Stephanie Long Lomenick who does acting and is starring in "The Man In The Maze". Stephanie is taking on the Earth Diet, by making her food from scratch and not buying food already in packages.

Thoughts: The Earth Diet really is your own creation. For me it is a lifestyle to only eat foods naturaly provided from the earth. For Stephanie she is swapping purchased packaged food to making food herself from scratch. So instead of buying cakes, corn breakds, cookies and chocolate, she is taking on making it herself!

Check out our video interview today while we were on set...we had to be quiet because they were shooting lead actor Andrew Roth's scene but we still managed to get a chat in about the Earth Diet!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6ugMOIX3AQ

What would your ideal day of eating look like?
I would eat ice cream all day. El fudge cookies, a Big Mac for lunch, pizza, and mexican foods.

What did you eat yesterday?
Breakfast I had a pop tart and powdered donuts, for lunch I had a bacon, tomato and lettuce sandwhich. A side salad with italian dressing. For dinner I had mexican, taco salad with chicken lettuce, sour cream and cheese. For dessert I had 2 girl scout cookies. (If Stephanie was eating only foods provided from the earth, the foods she would cut from this day would be the packaged processed foods for breakfast, the bread for her sandwhich, the italian dressing, the sour cream and cheese and the girl scout cookies. It is possible to make your own cookies and breads from scratch without chemicals and additives.)

What are your favourite foods?
Desserts! Chocolates, sweets, cakes, ice creams.

What do you think are the consequences on your for eating these types of processed foods?
I feel sluggish, I eat too much, I get allergic reactions, spots on my face and I swell up. Half the time I feel healthy, half the time I feel terrible.

How many times do you poo a day?
At least once.

What challenges will you have on the Earth Diet?
Availability of fresh organic foods here in Florence, Alabama. Me being consistent. I don't like limitations, if I know I can't have something I want it more. Cooking for my husband. I always compare myself with other people. Sabatoging myself.

Why do you want to do the Earth Diet?
To feel better, to feel alive, so I'm no just surviving I'm actually living, to be present, better skin, body and mind.

What are you going to do now?
I'm going to make my food from scratch, chocolate from scratch, no reheating in the microwave, I will make cornbread from scratch, I will buy dried beans and cook them instead of canned beans.

"People think that healthy equals suffering".

Challenges: No food related challenge today...filming in the frezing Alabama woods in a singlet was ahhh challenging and also a good opportunity to connect with the Earth when I was laying on the ground in the scene :)

Triumphs: Wooo I am so excited and inspired by Stephanie for taking on the Earth Diet and love the commitment she has to herself, her health and body :)

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: 2 nectarines. A pear. A kiwi fruit.

Lunch: Cooked white beans. Salad with lettuce and cucumber and carrot. An orange. A kiwi fruit. A apple.

Dinnner: Indian...back beans with chilli and Indian spices and rice with tomato and spice :)

Dessert: No dessert.

Snacks: 2 avocados. A nectarine. Chocolate balls (2 times!!!)

Exercise: Filming "The Man In The Maze" out in the cold Alabama woods...keping my body warm feels like a workout!! hehe

239 days to go!!!

Day 123

Have you seen that movie "Into The Wild". Well today I met that EARTH MAN...although unlike the movie he didn't die, he is alive. He survived 8 years in the mountains. Alone and living entirely from the Earth. His name is Tom. He is the cook for the cast and crew for the film I am working on "The Man In The Maze" here in Alabama, USA (www.themaninthemaze.net). I had the privellege of meeting him and chatting with him about his experience...

Thoughts:

Tom grew up New York and when he was 19 years old he left the city for the mountains where he spent 8 years with just himself and the Earth. He started off with a knife, a tent, a flashlight and some clothes including a pair of boots. That’s it I asked? "That’s it" he said. He said "human cruelty" made him want to leave the busy life for the mountains. He started off in the mountains upstate New York, then went into New Hampshire, Vermont and then Virginia. He saw 4 people in 8 years. These supplied him with shoe laces, boots, batteries for flashlights. he lived with no deodorant, no tv, no internet, no heating, no air conditioning, no supermarket, no phone. AND he had himself and the earth. He lived purely off the land.

In a typical day he would gather firewood and water. And then go out and look for food...

"I hunted rabbit, dear, racoons, squirrel, oats, wild carrots, dandelions, nuts (acrons, pine cones), berries, bark, milk thistle, lichens. Food varied. I sun dried meat to make a jerky. When I got sick, like stomach viruses, I ate charcoal, took it right out of the fire and ate it. It filtered my stomach. I made pots from clay to cook my food. And I made fire with string (from animal tendons) and sticks. Every 3 days I always moved around. It’s all about intuition out there. I was pooing twice a day at least."

"If you eat a poisonous plant, try to remember what plant you ate, and look around the 3 feet diameter around it and there will be a healer. That’s how mother nature keeps it in check. If a plant is toxic, mother earth puts plants around it to keep it from spreading." Fancinating.

Tom on meat eating...

"The human body was made to eat meat, but not in excess like we do. Maybe once or twice a week. You know people have meat for breakfast, meat for lunch, and meat for dinner. I had meat twice a week, maybe 3 times in the wild. If you get a deer, there is only so much time you can carry your deer. You eat when you can as quick as you can. If not, I would spread it around for other animals. And if not it will go back to the earth and give nutrients for the trees."

Do you think food provides us humn beings with existence?
No, it’s not the food. It’s the energy that gives us existence.

But if we didn’t eat we would die?
No we wouldn’t.

What about anorexic people? If they don't eat, they get sick and die?
They don’t know how to gather energy from the land without eating. I don’t feel like food is essentially life. Energy is life, food is only part of our being if we don’t know how to get it otherwise.

What was your favourite to eat out in the mountains?
I don’t have any favourites. I keep myself open.

How did you clean yourself?
I made soap from oats and animal fat. I boiled it into a soup and then it solidifies. He made it into a soup...with animal fat and oats. Cooked it together and then it solidifies.

How did you hunt the animals?
By making a bow and arrow out of a deer or better a elk bones, vertebrates. You take the tendons (the hard part that hold the muscle to the bone) and strip them down and melt it down into a glue, and take the shaft into the center of the vertebrates and fill up the center of the vertebrate and half of the shaft sticking out the top and half out the bottom. Then let it sit over night and then take the ribs, 4 ribs, take out the center of them and then take tha tendoin boiled down like a glue, and then take one rib put it over boiling water, straighten it out, then take the tendons and put it on the shaft and then that glues it. Then straighten another rib and put that on the bottom of the shaft. Take another rib with a curve, and place the curve facing away from you, and you would use that tendons to make it as a glue. Set that all aside and let it dry, and then take the tendons and put it all over the bones and that makes it a shalack and now you have a bow. Also hold back some of the tendoins that you have pulled off at the beginning to make your string, and make a 30ft length of string. That way when I have a bow I can go ahead and give it back to the earth when I’m done with it.

"Be kind to the Earth, be kind to the animals and be kind to the humans."

I am going to have more from Tom in tomorrows blog...and if you have any questions for him please let me know :)

Challenges: I wonder how long I would last in the forrest? I really don't think I could kill an animal. I would enjoy finding water, gathering wood, and picking nuts and berries. Not sure how to start a fire though!

Triumphs: Today I got present to that I have not had any sugar or chocolate, chips or lollies for 123 days! and that is liberating!

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: A punnet of gorgeous blueberries. A ginger tea with a squeeze of lemon.

Lunch: 2 avocados with walnuts (mmm I love putting the walnuts in the avocados and having the creamy avocado and crunchy walnuts in my mouth). A nectarine.

Dinnner: Potatoes. Indian Dahl (yellow lentils cooked with Indian spice and herbs) with rice and cabbage.

Dessert: Chocolate balls with walnuts.

Snacks: No snacks.

Exercise: A walk to the gym in the fresh Alabama air to the gym for a stretch in the steam room ;)

242 days to go!!!

Day 122

Day 2 shooting "The Man In The Maze"...the Earth Diet is possible anywhere in the world...even on a movie set shot in the woods in Alabama! Heheeee ;)

Thoughts:

The Earth naturally provides us with everything we need. EVERYTHING. Today I was eating raw cauliflower, and I love cauliflower, and I haven't eaten it for quite some time and I was wondering what is the point of eating cauliflower? I wonder what cauliflower can provide human beings. So I did a little research on my new white curd friend....

Cauliflower is a vegetable belonging to the Brassica oleracea species, which also includes cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli and collard greens. The vegetable originated in the Northeast Mediterranean and is presently cultivated in most of the countries of the world. It has a white head and stalk and is surrounded by thick, green leaves. However, the stalk and the leaves are discarded and only the head (white curd) is eaten. Cauliflower can be had in the raw, cooked or pickled form, though it the raw form that holds the highest nutritional value. Given below is complete information on the health and nutrition benefits of eating cauliflower.

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Eating Cauliflower
-The allicin in cauliflower is known to promote a healthy heart and reduce the risk of strokes
-Cauliflower contains selenium and vitamin C, both of which work together to strengthen the immune system.
-Cauliflower has been associated with the maintenance of a healthy cholesterol level.
-Being rich in folate, cauliflower is known to help improve cell growth and replication.
-The high amount of fiber in cauliflower improves colon health and can even help prevent cancer.
-Recently, it was found that cauliflower contains ‘indole-3-carbinol’, a substance that can prevent breast and other female cancers.
-The glucosinolates and thiocyanates, present in cauliflower, increase the ability of liver to neutralize potentially toxic substances.
-Cauliflower acts as a blood and liver detoxifier.
-Sulforaphane, a substance in cauliflower, can remove cancer causing chemicals and also stop the spread of cancer cells, even in the later stages of their growth.
-Researches have suggested that cauliflower contains certain phyto-chemicals that might help reduce the risk of some hereditary cancers.

The people suffering from the following ailments can benefit from the consumption of cauliflower:
Arthritis
Asthma
Constipation
High Blood Pressure
Kidney and Bladder Disorders



http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/benefits-of-cauliflower-1699.html

Challenges: The cast and crew went to the same local diner/restaurant for lunch as yesterday and they serve only fried foods and hamburgers. Absolutely no salads or vegetables or fruits. So I find it's always handy to have raw veggies, or fruits, or my chocolate ball ingredients handy so I can eat something :)

Triumphs: I used to think if I eat really healthy I will be tired and have less energy...I had it that being healthy is hard work. This is what stopped me from being healthy for so many years! I'ts a myth that being healthy, eating less, changing your diet will make you feel tired and energyless. I'ts totally backwards! The healthier and closer to earth that you eat the more energetic, pure, clean, vibrant, fresh and young you will feel (aren't they awesome words!)

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Man-in-the-Maze-Movie/275214654765?ref=ts
www.themaninthemaze.net

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Damiana herbal tea. 2 oranges. Chocolate balls.

Lunch: Raw cauliflower, brocolli and carrot. Stephanie (who plays my bestie in The Man In The Maze) shared half of her apple with me ;)

Dinnner: 6 nectarines. A beautiful creamy avocado. Sprouts (lentils and chickpeas), walnuts.

Dessert: No dessert.

Snacks: Purple grapes. Raw cauliflower.

Exercise: Working on set ;) keeping my body warm in this chilly Alabama weather is like full time exercise haha ;)

243 days to go!!!

Day 121

Stephanie Lomenick and I...we play besties in "The Man In The Maze" which we are shooting now in Alabama.

Thoughts: First day shoot today for "The Man In The Maze"!!!

Ashleigh Bevin is taking on the Earth Diet on March 1st! She also suggested that I write an article about flaxseed. So I did my usual online research and here's what I got:

Flax Seed Oil is a blue flowering plant that is grown on the Western Canadian Prairies for its oil rich seeds. This natural oil (also known as Linseed Oil) is highly recommended for the general well being and whole body nutrition and is considered to be nature's richest source of omega-3 fatty acids that are required for the health of almost all body systems.

Flax Seed Oil contains omega-6 and omega-9 essential fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, lecithin, magnesium, fiber, protein, and zinc and also provides approximately 50% more omega-3 oils than what you could get from taking fish oil, minus that horrible "fishy" after taste. Sounded good to me already!

Should you add flax seed oil to your diet?

Some nutritionists, researchers, and scientists believe that it could be the most important health-promoting supplement next to a multi-vitamin. Nearly every system in the body can benefit from flax seed oil's natural properties, including the cardiovascular system, immune system, circulatory system, reproductive system, nervous system, as well as joints.

Just look at this list of facts and studies of what Flax Seed Oil can and may accomplish:

- Research shows low incidence of breast cancer and colon cancer in populations that have high amounts of lignan in their diet. Flax is 100 times richer in lignan than most whole grains.

- Studies show that Omega-3 fatty acids help lower cholesterol and blood triglycerides, and prevent clots in arteries, which may result in strokes, heart attacks and thromboses.

- Helps protect the body against high blood pressure, inflammation, water retention, sticky platelets and lowered immune function.

- Shortens recovery time for fatigued muscles after exertion.

- Increases the body's production of energy and also increases stamina.

- Accelerates the healing of sprains and bruises.

- Eases weight loss in people afflicted with obesity.

- Stimulates brown fat cells and increases the metabolic rate making it easier to burn off fat.

- Improves the absorption of Calcium.

- Strengthens finger and toenails.

- Can improve eyesight and perception of colors.

- Can often improve the function of the liver.

- Can relieve the side effects and stop development of many forms of cancer.

- Can relieve some cases of Asthma.

- Helpful in the treatment of Eczema, Psoriasis, and Dandruff.

- Can relieve the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis. It can relieve the symptoms of Diabetes Mellitus.

- Can alleviate some allergies.

- Helps prevent Atherosclerosis (the accumulation of fatty deposits inside the blood vessels, especially the large and medium-sized arteries, that many people experience during the aging process).

- Lowers high blood pressure in Hypertension sufferers.

- Has been scientifically proven to treat some cases of depression.

- Can improve the mental function of many old age pensioners.

- Can help in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.

- Has been proven to improve the behavior of Schizophrenics.

- Can relieve some cases of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) in females.

- And more...!

I also recently tried flax seed meal in my chocolate balls.

What are flax seeds and flax seed meal?:
Flax seeds are very low carb, high nutrition seeds that are useful in a low of recipes. They are the seeds of the flax plant, which linen cloth is made from. Flax has a pleasantly nutty taste. The whole seeds keep well, but they need to be ground into meal for us to get their full nutritional benefit. A simple spice or coffee grinder can do this in seconds.

http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisflaxsee_pfy.htm
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/products/p/prodflax.htm



Challenges: We went to lunch today at a local restaurant and they had only burgers, french fries and fried food. No salad, no fruit...

Triumphs: ...Any excuse to have chocolate for lunch though I love! hehe

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: A green apple. Peppermint tea. Chocolate balls with brazil nuts. A beautiful avocado mm mmm!

Lunch: 2 apples. Chocolate balls.

Dinnner: Indian food...Dahl (beans) with rice and spices and cabbage mmm mmm!

Dessert: No dessert.

Snacks: No snacks.

Recipe: I took my chocolate ball recipe ingredients with me to set with a bowl and a spoon and it's so easy and convenient to just whip it out and make them in five minutes! Recipe for chocolate balls is on blog Day 115.

Exercise: working on set doing multiple takes...AND walking up the hill to set! Oh and because it's sooo freezing cold here...I do squats, and dances, and jumps, and anything abstractly physical to keep me warm! I'm going to be fit after this 4 week shoot! ;)

On location shooting "The Man In The Maze"

244 days to go!!!

Day 120

Thoughts: What are you really drinking when you drink Coke cola...

Did Coca-Cola torture and kill workers in Latin America? Aparantely so...scary...check out http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2622/did-coca-cola-torture-and-kill-workers-in-latin-america and http://killercoke.org/

"Growth, leadership, sustainability..."

These are the words on Coke Colas website. Do they best represent the machine made drink? Decide for yourself....below is what I found on the drink.

Coke says about their mission "At the Coke Cola company we strive to refresh the world, inspire the words of optimism and hapiness, create value and make a difference."

Coke is in over 200 countries, 123 years in business.

History: Ever wondered how Coke came about?
It was 1886, and in New York Harbor, workers were constructing the Statue of Liberty. Eight hundred miles away, another great American symbol was about to be unveiled. Like many people who change history, John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, was inspired by simple curiosity. One afternoon, he stirred up a fragrant, caramel-colored liquid and, when it was done, he carried it a few doors down to Jacobs' Pharmacy. Here, the mixture was combined with carbonated water and sampled by customers who all agreed -- this new drink was something special. So Jacobs' Pharmacy put it on sale for five cents a glass. Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, named the mixture Coca-Cola®, and wrote it out in his distinct script. To this day, Coca-Cola is written the same way. In the first year, Pemberton sold just 9 glasses of Coca-Cola a day. A century later, The Coca-Cola Company has produced more than 10 billion gallons of syrup. Unfortunately for Pemberton, he died in 1888 without realizing the success of the beverage he had created. Over the course of three years, 1888-1891, Atlanta businessman Asa Griggs Candler secured rights to the business for a total of about $2,300. Candler would become the Company's first president, and the first to bring real vision to the business and the brand.

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/index.html

Some facts about coke:

1. You can clean a toilet with Coke. Truth! According to www.howtocleananything.com, the popular household hint guru Mary Ellen says some coke in the toilet for an hour can do the trick.
4. Remove stains from vitreous china. Truth! According to columnist Heloise.
5. Use Coke and a ball of aluminum foil for rust on chrome. Truth! According to Joey Greene's www.wackyuses.com
6. Clean corrosion from car battery terminals. Truth! This is true of a lot of carbonated beverages.
7. Use a Coke-soaked cloth to loosen a rusted bolt.
8. Use a can of Coke in a load of greasy laundry.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/w/watervscoke.htm

I also read this comment by Michael "The Greedy Fetus" M. "The company does not actually manufacture and sell soft drinks. The Coca-Cola company actually only produces the bubbles that are force fed into these harmless, defenseless drinks. It's all part of a government plan to see whether vast quantities of carbon bubbles will make the human body invisible to radar. If the government is right, then millions of taxpayers dollars will be saved, as the military will no longer have to invest in expensive stealth weapons and aircraft. People would be able to simply walk from one country to another without being detected on enemy radar screens.

You may of course know that radar is only effective above 180ft, and therefore people can walk under it anyway, but the government is also planning to create soldiers that are 450ft tall, and very strong indeed. These will be born 100ft tall, and already able to speak, so the births should be interesting. When questioned, a spokesman for the government said nothing, because he is dead.

This blatant cover up means that Coca-Cola and other soft drinks that are made fizzy by the same company will continue to be sold to the unsuspecting public. However, it is not only the government that is to blame.

The government originally wanted to conduct this test on animals, but animal rights groups and other neo-hippie tree-huggers objected, and chained themselves to plastic furniture or chanted songs that were not really that catchy. Unable to cope with the extreme pressure of twenty hippies protesting peacefully, the government sent the project underground, and now test on humans instead.

I feel that it is high time we struck back against the oppression of the animal rights activists, who force us to drink Coca-Cola until it comes out our nose, and makes everybody laugh at us. My suggestion is that everybody who reads this should go directly home and burn their cat/dog/hamster, or whatever pets you have at home, or that you just happen to see on the way. In fact, don't do it just to get at the activists. Do it because it's fun. Remember that killing innocent animals for nothing is the only way that we can ever hope to break the multinationals."

http://www.yelp.com/topic/seattle-the-truth-about-coca-cola

Challenges: It's challenging being away from home and not having my own kitchen so prepare any foods I want...I am missing mmm salads and egg plant vegetable dishes...and my juice machine! Next time I work on a film I am for sure bringing a juicer ;)

Triumphs: It's still great to be able to stick to the Earth Diet no matter where I go on the planet...after all I am still on Earth ;) and will always be able to eat foods provided to us directly from nature.

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Brazil nuts. A peppermint tea. An avocado.

Lunch: A large bunch of green grapes. Brazil nuts.

Dinnner: 2 apple and chocolate balls with brazil nuts.

Dessert: no dessert.

Snacks: no snacks.

Exercise: A run around Florence, Alabama and dancing to 3 Black Eyed Peas songs in my hotel room :) And then a lovely stretch oh and some ab work...love the burn!

245 days to go!!!

Day 118

Autism. The Autism Epidemic, How WE created it, what it is and yes there is a cure!

Thoughts: We drove past a sign today that said "A child is diagnosed about every 20 minutes." Every day 60 American families are told they have a child with autism. I was completely shocked! How could this be?! And what a sucky way to start off life as a child, autism. And I really don't believe it has to be like this! The chemicals, the food, the additives, the artifical sugars create autisim in kids. Of course it does, it completely drowns their cells in chemicals, and they can no longer function as how the human being is designed.

Below is a list of drugs and autism medication commonly used to currently treat certain symptoms in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as provided by the National Institutes of Health. This list is disguisting.

Children's Autism Medication Chart
TRADE NAME GENERIC NAME APPROVED AGE
Stimulant Medications
Adderall amphetamine 3 and older
Adderall XR amphetamine (extended release) 6 and older
Concerta methylphenidate (long acting) 6 and older
Cylert* pemoline 6 and older
Dexedrine dextroamphetamine 3 and older
Dextrostat dextroamphetamine 3 and older
Focalin dexmethylphenidate 6 and older
Metadate ER methylphenidate (extended release) 6 and older
Ritalin methylphenidate 6 and older
Non-stimulant for ADHD
Strattera atomoxetine 6 and older
*Because of its potential for serious side effects affecting the liver, Cylert should not ordinarily be considered as first-line drug therapy for ADHD.
Antidepressant and Antianxiety Medications
Anafranil clomipramine 10 and older (for OCD)
BuSpar buspirone 18 and older
Effexor venlafaxine 18 and older
Luvox (SSRI) fluvoxamine 8 and older (for OCD)
Paxil (SSRI) paroxetine 18 and older
Prozac (SSRI) fluoxetine 18 and older
Serzone (SSRI) nefazodone 18 and older
Sinequan doxepin 12 and older
Tofranil imipramine 6 and older (for bedwetting)
Wellbutrin bupropion 18 and older
Zoloft (SSRI) sertraline 6 and older (for OCD)
*Antipsychotic Medications
Clozaril (atypical) clozapine 18 and older
Haldol haloperidol 3 and older
Risperdal* (atypical) risperidone 18 and older
Seroquel (atypical) quetiapine 18 and older
Mellaril thioridazine 2 and older
Zyprexa (atypical) olanzapine 18 and older
Orap pimozide 12 and older (for Tourette's syndrome—Data for age 2 and older indicate similar safety profile)
Mood Stabilizing Medications
Cibalith-S lithium citrate 12 and older
Depakote valproic acid 2 and older (for seizures)
Eskalith lithium carbonate 12 and older
Lithobid lithium carbonate 12 and older
Tegretol carbamazepine any age (for seizures)

This is disgusting that we treat the children with autism with these drugs, the chemicals that created their autism in the first place! What does autistic even mean? ...an abnormal absorption with the self; marked by communication disorders and short attention span and inability to treat others as.

So what causes Autism? Two theories link autism and vaccines. The first theory suggests that the MMR (Mumps-Measles-Rubella) vaccine may cause intestinal problems leading to the development of autism. The second theory suggests that a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal, used in some vaccines, could be connected to autism.

Is There an Autism Epidemic? When my parents were growing up and especially their parents growing up, autism was rarely heard of. Today, everyone seems to be or know someone with an autistic child. Certainly, the numbers of children diagnosed with autism has surged in the past decade.

There is a cure, and that is to reverse the damage that has been done. Jim Carey's partner and ex Playboy model Jenny McCarthy's son was diagnosed with Autism. He is now "typical". And all it was, was a change of diet and an elimination of toxic chemicals.

Jenny found the ammunition she needed in the form of a strict dairy free and wheat free diet, an anti-fungal medication, and in various forms of behavioral therapy. As Jenny McCarthy remained steadfast in pursuing Evan’s recovery, she found solace in prayer and meditation, often asking “why” she and Evan were put on this path. Jenny believes the answer lies in her ability to reach millions of moms through the audience that she had unwittingly manifested through her successful run as bestselling author of mommy and baby books. Referring to her latest best seller, Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism, she has stated with unwavering faith that, “This is the book I was born to write!”

PR.com: I want to talk to you about what you believe caused Evan’s autism. I know that he is on a wheat and dairy free diet and I know that you put him on Diflucan to get the fungus out of his body. The combination of that with the behavior therapy… then there are the vaccinations. I grew up eating grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream sundaes and my mom vaccinated me. How come I didn’t become autistic, and why do these things affect some children?

Jenny McCarthy: If you look at the vaccine schedule, and you can go on www.generationrescue.com and that’s a really good website… the vaccines that you received in 1983 were ten. Today they’re thirty-six. Thirty-six vaccinations compared to ten back in the day. A lot of these kids seem to be born with a little bit of an auto-immune problem. Maybe they can’t really detox some of the toxins in the environment as easily. For instance, one of the things is glutathione. Glutathione is everyone’s bodies’ natural anti-oxidant that gets rid of toxins and viruses and stuff like that. We’ve noticed that a lot of these kids have low glutathione. So we say, “God, if these kids are born with low glutathione, a lower immune system, then how are they supposed to now take thirty-six vaccines when we never had that before?” So it’s real easy when you look at that list of what it was like, and what it’s like now, to go, “Ah! I see the escalation of vaccines and I see the escalation of autism,” and that’s how we got there.

PR.com: Why are there more vaccines?

Jenny McCarthy: I’m so glad you said that (laughs)! Why are there?! Why do we need a Chickenpox vaccine? I had the Chickenpox. I got to stay home from school.

PR.com: Why is mercury in these vaccines?

Jenny McCarthy: Because it is the cheapest preservative. These are the most toxic neurotoxins on the face of the planet… plutonium, and then number two is mercury. We still have mercury in these shots because it’s very, very cheap. They can completely use something else, but they won’t make as much of a profit.

PR.com: And you believe that when Evan was an infant that he was behaving like a “typical” child?

Jenny McCarthy: Yes.

PR.com: Explain to me how the Candida in Evan’s system affected his autism.

Jenny McCarthy: Once these kids start getting… basically their immune system shuts down. After the toxic levels that they pick up in the air, water, vaccines… it kind of really deregulates the immune system. Once that happens, these kids are getting ear infection after ear infection. You can ask any mother of a child with autism if they had countless ear infections and they’ll say yes. Then the doctors give repeated antibiotics. Well the repeated antibiotics without a probiotic, probiotic is like an acidophilus that you find in yogurt… all these antibiotics create this yeast in the gut. An overabundance of yeast then causes holes in the gut and that causes Leaky Gut Syndrome. Food then travels to the blood, which travels to the brain. Candida literally takes over the body causing horrible side affects. They’re finding that once you clean up those issues, a lot of these children on the spectrum feel so much better. Then they are able to absorb the therapies, like speech therapies, let’s say. They feel better and they can think clearly and they’re not sick. Evan was so sick with that yeast that if I never dug into it and found out about it, he would still be severely messed up.

PR.com: How can you get the Candida (yeast) out of the body if you suspect your child may have that?

Jenny McCarthy: Everyone should always be on a probiotic every day of their life, especially if they are doing an antibiotic; they need a probiotic. I talk about something in my book called ThreeLac, which is a natural probiotic, but it’s a probiotic that eats yeast in the gut. I started giving it to Evan and it’s just a little powder in your drink, like Tang. You drink it everyday. He started pooping out buckets of yeast. He was throwing up yeast. He had so much yeast.

PR.com: Why do you think doctors seem so fearful of acknowledging a connection between illness and nutrition in these kids?

Jenny McCarthy:Isn’t it fascinating? It is so mind boggling to me that the medical community does not support diet. If you ask any doctor you go to about diet intervention, they have no idea. If you ask any medical students at graduation, “How many of you guys have learned about preventative medicine?” no one would raise their hand. It is a pharmaceutical world. Mind you… Evan, for seizures, has to be on pharmaceuticals in order to keep him seizure free. So I’m not against pharmaceuticals, but for the love of God, we need to be teaching doctors that there is a natural way to help these kids. I know these kids are here for a reason, it’s not just to have autism in the world. It’s to show us, “Oh look. Eating healthy makes a body feel better.” I think that, that is really their big message and you know, come on with the toxins and the vaccines and the pesticides in your toxic world. Clean it up.

PR.com: And you sometimes had to fight other people when they told you that, that instinct was wrong, correct?

Jenny McCarthy: Correct. You’ll always face people, and that gut is never wrong. It’s when you start making decisions with your head and not your gut that you’re going to run into problems. That’s how I got Evan where he is today. I followed that gut.

I love that Jenny is making a difference now. Later does not exist.

http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/autism-medication.html
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
http://www.pr.com/article/1076
http://autism.about.com/od/causesofautism/p/ontherise.htm



Challenges: Today the director of "The Man In The Maze" Mitesh Patel took me to buy some fruit and vegetable. We went to Aldi, which they actually have in Australia and I was shocked! They aren't like the ones in Aussie land, you walk in and there are boxes and boxes of mass produced foods in cardboard boxes and processed human made foods. The fruit and vegetable section of Aldi was tiny. I've never seen such a small fruit and vegetable section in a supermarket before! I guess they cater for their buyers? Or do they cater for themselves and control the buyers? No wonder people have autism...

Triumphs: The director said to me "I don't know how you eat so many fruits". I thought wow yeah I do eat a lot of fruits...I love my body and my health! And I got grateful for my body and my health. Sometimes I forget how great it is to have health and energy and a love and want to look after my body. There was a point where I was just trashing my body completely with junk food, and I would think "Why do I even eat this when it provides me no nutritional benifits at all" and it was torture because I knew it wasn't good and then I wouldn't do anything about it. Self sabatoge. There is no sabatoging of ones self or body on the Earth Diet, there just can't be! Only love and nuture :) Love it!

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Green apple. 1 avocado. Black tea with ginger (real black tea, not in the tea bags)

Lunch: 5 nectarines.

Dinnner: Indian Idli, rice cakes and dahl. The rice is grinded to make powder and then compacted together and steamed to make a soft cafe. Dahl is lentils cooked with Indian herbs that you pour on your rice cakes. Mmmm mmmm.

Dessert: my Chocolate recipe with walnuts.

Snacks: no snacks.

Exercise: A run around Florence, Alabama with lead actor Andrew Roth.

247 days to go!!!