Day 326

Thoughts: Meet Yucca!

My husband introduced me to Yucca and now I love it! To think I never knew it existed before this year - I am sure there are many more wonderful foods out there to discover!

• Potato lovers would love Yucca I imagine as it has a similar consistency - that creamy white cakey crumble mmm! - and has less carbohydrates then a potato - so it is not as heavy.

• Yucca goes great with beans and rice.

• Yucca is a plant part of the perennial shrubs (a plant that lives for longer than 2 years) and trees in the agave family. They are native to the hot and dry earth so you will find them in arid areas like North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

• You can eat many parts of the Yucca tree - including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems,and more rarely roots. It is the roots I love!

• Yucca is a white, starchy tropical vegetable that was originally grown by the indigenous peoples who resided in the countries now known as Columbia, Venezuela, and Brazil. These people used yucca as a dietary staple, typically milling the yucca into flour or making a paste from it.

• Because yucca is a versatile vegetable, its usage has spread to many non-Latin populations. For example, 10.5 million lbs. of yucca were sold last year in the United States alone. Additionally, every day more people are becoming aware of its use in cooking. This is because it can easily be substituted for potatoes in soups and stews and it contains a high amount of vitamin C and carbohydrates.
  

• Yucca is also a good source of dietary fiber and contains approximately 120 calories per 3.5-ounce serving.

• Another use for yucca that is becoming increasingly popular is the production of yucca chips by many food companies. Similar in appearance and taste to potato chips, except a little sweeter, yucca chips are entering the market as a healthy alternative to other snack foods.

• When cooking with yucca, many different variations exist for its preparation. Some of the most popular and tasty uses for it include the following:

• Boiling the yucca then covering it with onions and garlic that have been sautéed in olive oil

• Frying the yucca in olive oil until golden, removing it to cool then lightly shaking minced garlic on it.
  
  
  
  
• Adding it along with potatoes and other vegetables into beef-based vegetable soups
  

Source: http://www.essortment.com/all/yucarootsplant_rbgw.htm

Quotes: In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. -Robert Frost

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A beet, carrot, celery, ginger, spinach and garlic juice! A great way to get all your vegetables in one juice :)

Meal 2: 3 nectarines.

Meal 3: A avocado.

Meal 4: Freshly squeezed orange juice :)

Meal 5: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups! Created with cacao, peanuts, cacao butter and agave!



Meal 6: Mexican Rice and Beans with avocado and Yucca! Ingredients: Red onion, Green Pepper, Pinto Beans, Brown Rice, Tomato Paste, Cumin, Chilli, Coriander (Cilantro), avocado, lime!



Recipe: The recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and Mexican Rice and beans are available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: Dancing and stretching to some beautiful soft peaceful music by John Michael Sherdon.

39 days to go!!!

Gluten-Free Cranberry Crumble

Gluten-free cranberry peach crumble. Easy as pie. Wait. Easier.

So I have a question for you. Albeit, rhetorical. Who doesn't love a warm-from-the-oven fruit crisp or crumble? Personally, I'm a big fan. Obviously. Here's why. Imagine tender, juicy melt-in-your mouth bites of sweet fruit. A kiss of brown sugar. A hint of cinnamon.

And Darling- best of all? Embarrassingly easy.

Think about it. No wrestling with stick-to-itself plastic wrap. No rolling out finicky fall-apart gluten-free pie dough that- I am sorry to tell you- never has the authentic tender flakiness of the real thing. My nose would be growing like a woody on a sixteen year old watching Angelina Jolie in Beowulf if I told you any gluten-free pie crust I ever ate was worthy of the filling.
And besides. Who needs the hassle? Honestly. And why pies? Whose bright idea was it to make pies the epitome of holiday baking perfection. The holidays are stressful enough. All the family mishigas. The drama.

I'm over it.

Easy and tasty is my kind of dessert. Hence my love for fruit crisps and crumbles. Sometimes I bake crisps in individual baking dishes. Sometimes I make fruit crumbles in a glass pie plate. This way, it even (sort of) resembles a pie. If you squint.

Or knocked back a vodka martini or two.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Day 325

Photograph: "Twisted" Artist: Leesa Connelly

Thoughts: Today I checked in with, or could say unplugged with a being called John Michael Sherdon. Like the Matrix movie that we could live in, John is Neo, completely unplugged from the machine, living in this world but not of it. He is a rare being on earth. You don't come across many human beings often on this planet as it is now who remains so unaffected by outside circumstances. Not to say he doesn't feel, connect, communicate and interact with everything of this planet. He does and he absorbs everything and has worked on his self for many years - experiencing things I have not even known existed, frequencies I cannot know intellectually. There are many things in my way, and many things I cannot imagine possible yet. I look forward while here and now as I work towards this greater awareness :)

Source: John Of The Light.com

Quotes: Be in the world and not of it - John Michael Sherdon

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A beet, carrot, celery and ginger juice oh and lots and lots of spinach.

Meal 2: Raw Chocolate Mint Brownie and Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls :) A chocolate meal! Created mostly with nuts, brazil, almonds and peanuts! Also has cacao, agave and water :) The beautiful Erica who works at Big Al's Fitness walked by the counter today as someone was purchasing the balls and said 'people love the balls Liana'!!! hehe :)




Meal 3: Orange, Grapefruit and Strawberry juice :)!!! Mmm mmm mmm! The most refreshing zangy energy juice! Juiced by Tristan at The Earth Diet Cafe!

Meal 4: Brazil nuts.

Meal 5: Spanish Beans and Rice with Avocado :) Mmm! The perfect warming, healing, loving, smooth, nurturing meal :) Ingredients: Red Kidney Beans, Onion, Garlic, Celery, Olive Oil, Paprika, Coriander (cilantro).



Recipe: The recipe for Raw Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls and Spanish Rice and Beans are available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: Bike riding all over Amityville :) To and from the gym, to and from a friend's place, to and from the spanish store to pick up some beautiful avocados with my husband :)

40 days to go!!!

Day 324

Thoughts: Which one sounds like you;

"No matter how hard I try I can't lose weight and be healthy"
"I can eat whatever I like and don't put on weight"

Each one of these beliefs will create quite different experiences. What we believe about ourselves and about life becomes true for us. These are the wise words of the beautiful extraordinary being Louise Hay.

Life is Really Very Simple. What We Give Out, We Get Back

What we think about ourselves becomes the truth for us. I believe that everyone, myself included, is responsible for everything in our lives, the best and the worst. Every thought we think is creating our future. Each one of us creates our experiences by our thoughts and our feelings. The thoughts we think and the words we speak create our experiences.

We create the situations, and then we give our power away by blaming the other person for our frustration. No person, no place, and no thing has any power over us, for "we" are the only thinkers in it. When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we will find it in our lives.

The Universe Totally Supports Us in Every Thought We Choose to Think and Believe

Put another way, our subconscious mind accepts whatever we choose to believe. They both mean that what I believe about myself and about life becomes true for me. What you choose to think about yourself and about life becomes true for you. And we have unlimited choices about what we can think.

When we know this, then it makes sense to choose "Everyone is always helpful," rather than "People are out to get me."

The Universal Power Never Judges or Criticizes Us

It only accepts us at our own value. Then it reflects our beliefs in our lives. If I want to believe that life is lonely and that nobody loves me, then that is what I will find in my world.

However, if I am willing to release that belief and to affirm for myself that "Love is everywhere, and I am loving and lovable," and to hold on to that new affirmation and to repeat it often, then it will become true for me. Now, loving people will come into my life, the people already in my life will become more loving to me, and I will find myself easily expressing love to others.


Most of Us Have Foolish Ideas about Who We Are and Many, Many Rigid Rules about How Life Ought to Be Lived

This is not to condemn us, for each of us is doing the very best we can at this very moment. If we knew better, if we had more understanding and awareness, then we would do it differently. Please don't put yourself down for being where you are.

"Men don't cry!" "Women can't handle money!" What limiting ideas to live with.

"You are wonderful." "I love you." How often do you tell yourself this?

This blog thanks to the wonderful Liz Graydon!

Quotes: "The Thoughts we think and the words we speak create our experiences." Louise Hay

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A grapefruit and orange juice.

Meal 2: An avocado.

Meal 3: 4 nectarines.



Meal 4: Some brazil nuts.



Meal 5: Green Salad. Created with avocado, baby spinach, green lettuce leafs, garlic, spring onion (shallots), coriander (cilantro), green chilli, cucumber and lime.



Meal 6: Chocolate Fruit and Almond Bark. Created with coconut butter, cacao butter, cacao paste, cacao powder, maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, hazelnut extract, vanilla extract, sunflower lecithin, raisins, dried cherries, coconut, almonds and walnuts!



Recipe: Green Salad and Chocolate Fruit and Almond Bark are available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: A 40 minute workout at Big Al's Family Fitness! Worked on cardio and abs :)

41 days to go!!!

Day 323

Thoughts: How you lose weight on The Earth Diet.

When you eat only foods that nature intended, your body weight is restored to it's natural state. I was never fat, but previous to The Earth Diet I had excess weight stored from the years of accumulated artificial sugar, processed foods, preservatives and chemicals!

Did you know the average person eats about 2 Kg of food additives a year!!!

It always seems to be that extra weight that would not shift. Once I cut this from my lifestyle and live eating only foods naturally provided by the earth, my body completely transformed, feeling healthy and energetic, being able to sleep less, eat less and yet be fulfilled, and my digestive system is now a fully functioning operating organ - hehe! No more blockages! And now that my bowels are cleaner I am able to actually absorb the nutrients! Now I eat what ever I like when I like, including chocolate! Real chocolate made with cacao beans, no sugar and no dairy!

• When you swap foods with sugar, preservatives, and artificial flavours to natural whole foods from the earth, their is no way for it to stick in your body, food flows in you and out of you, your digestive system works harmoniously and you are flourishing with vitamins and minerals and left with more energy!
• The Earth Diet focuses on lightness - you become what you think about most and when you focus on lightness rather than heaviness, that is who you are!
  
  
• The Earth Diet gives your digestive system a break, as you are no longer eating foods that provide you with no nutritional value. It is these foods that the digestive system uses up so much energy to digest. When it is not wasting the energy on digesting foreign sugars and flavourings, and instead eating nutritious foods, your body is absorbing all the vitamins and you are left with more energy and vitality to do other things, in which you are most likely to be active and burn fat!
  
  
• When you swap regular store bought chocolate with real chocolate made from cacao beans, no sugar, no dairy and no artificial anythings you will drop all that 'chocolate' weight you have gathered over the years!
  
  
• Your body becomes in a alkaline state in which weight gain is not possible. Weight gain is created when your body is overloaded with food and chemicals and hence acidic.
  
  
• The Earth Diet has a lot of raw recipes. Raw foods are alive foods. Science proves that cooking not only destroys nutrition and enzymes, but chemically changes foods from the substances needed for health into free-radicals and poisons that destroy our health!
• The Earth Diet isn't a quick fix - it is a lifestyle transformation. So you don't lose weight with uncomfortable detox symptoms only to put it on again after the 'diet'. Once you try your own Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups you won't want to eat store bought Reese's Cups again!
• You will also experience an 'emotional' detox on The Earth Diet and realize your true potential; powerful beyond measure!- you learn to separate yourself from the voice that has you binge on sugary junk and fast foods!
• When you juice fresh fruits and vegetables, you absorb the vitamins and minerals at cellular level.
• Your natural fat burning ability is recreated.
• As whole foods from the earth are higher in nutrition and lower in calories! So you can eat more, absorb more nutrients and lose weight!
• The main source of fats on The Earth Diet nuts and seeds, as well as avocado and coconut butter. These fats are easily broken down in the body and do not store! So cellulite will dissolve!
• Weightloss is not complicated on The Earth Diet and there is no calorie counting. When you are in a state of well being excess weight flows off you!
• Consume as much as you can of the 'right nutrition' and you will never put on weight
  
  The Earth Diet Challenge begins October 26th - eat only foods from the earth for 21 days and another one for 9 days! See the website to register!
  
  Some foods and recipes for weightloss on The Earth Diet are:
  
  
  • Raw Zucchini Pasta Pesto
    
    
  • Avocado
    
    
  • Chocolate Balls
    
    
  • Grapefruit and Orange Juice
• AND SWAPPING THINGS LIKE:
  
  Ice Cream - for Raw Ice Cream; no dairy and no sugar!
  
  Pizza - for raw pizza made with sprouted buckwheat, tomatoes, and macadamias and nutritional yeast as cheese!
  
  Pasta - for Raw Spaghetti! Made with Zuchinni!
  
  Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - for your own raw peanut butter cups!
  
  Pancakes - for buckwheat pancakes with maple syrup!
  
  Juices - get your own juicer and juice beetroot (beet) that lifts waste off your bowel walls!
  
  Cheesecake - with raw Cheesecake made with macadamia nuts and cashews! Divine!
  
  Cookie Dough - raw created with cashews, oats and vanilla!
  
  To view these recipes and more plus see before and after photos visit www.TheEarthDiet.org
  
  
  Quotes: Not thinking of good, not thinking of evil - tell me, what was your original face before your mother and father were born?....Zen Koan.
  
  What I Ate Today:
  
  Meal 1: A beetroot (beet), carrot, celery, ginger and garlic juice.
  
  Meal 2: An avocado.
  
  Meal 3: 2 nectarines.
  
  Meal 4: Veggie Patties! Ingredients: Beetroot, garlic, ginger, carrot, zuchinni, egg plant, eggs, brown onion, oats, potatoes.
  
  
  
  Meal 5: Raw Chocolate Brownie :) Created from raw soaked almonds, walnuts, cacao powder, coconut oil, dates, vanilla extract (optional).
  
  
  
  Meal 6: Aussie Prawns (Shrimp). Created with prawns, orange, parsley, basil, cummin, garlic and rice.
  
  
  
  Meal 6: Some raspberries :)
  
  Recipe: The recipe for Veggie Patties, raw Chocolate Brownies and Aussie Prawns are available free on The Earth Diet website!
  
  Exercise: A 1 hour workout at Big Al's Family Fitness! I did cardio, jumping and core work :)
  
  42 days to go!!!

Day 322

Thoughts: Death by Sugar.

This article was written by a beautiful friend of mine Elisha Yarrington who writes a blog Mind Body Spirit!

Sugar is by far one of the most addictive substances.

Yet it is commonly added to nearly 90% of processed and packaged food items.

It promotes cancer cells.

Triggers weight gain.

Promotes early signs of ageing.

Evidence shows that sugar is a major factor causing chronic illness (let alone obesity). DEATH BY SUGAR may not be an overstatement.

There is a vast sea of research suggesting the deadly effects of sugar in our westerm diets. Science has now shown us, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that sugar in your food, is taking a devastating toll on your health.

Sadly our government and the FDA allows sugar to be loaded into your soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, and hidden in almost all processed foods. To tomato sauce, vegemite, bread, cheese and toothpaste!

And now most infant formula has the sugar equivalent of one can of Coca-Cola, so babies are being metabolically poisoned from day one if taking formula.

(Some of the this information was gathered from Dr Robert H.Lustig from the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism- i strongly sugget you watched his presentation).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

I highly recommend watching the above video. If i were to sit here and right everything i know about sugar (fructose) and explain in scientific detail what happens to your body when you consumer sugar, this post would be more like a essay.

So instead... read these SIMPLE dot points about sugar, and what it does to YOU. Even if you only remember one of them, you may think twice next time you eat processed packaged food.. Remember knowledge is power.. Ignorance is bliss, we are evolving and growing into more intelligent, conscious being's so be OPEN to information that comes to you.. Read it. Analyze it. and Do your own research!

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
3. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.
5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.
6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.
7. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.
8. Sugar can weaken your eyesight
9. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulceration colitis.
10. Sugar can cause premature aging. In fact, the single most important factor that accelerates aging is insulin, which is triggered by sugar. 1
11. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
12. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.
13. Sugar contributes to obesity.
14. Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, and multiple sclerosis.
15. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
16. Sugar can cause gallstones.
17. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
18. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
19. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
20. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.[
21. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
22. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes.
23. Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.
24. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
25. Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.
26. Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.
27. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
28. In intensive care units, limiting sugar saves lives.
29. Sugar may induce cell death.
30. In juvenile rehabilitation centers, when children were put on low sugar diets, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior.

The Earth Diet is sugar free :)

To read more by Elisha visit here.



Quotes: Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Zen Wisdom

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A beet, celery, ginger, carrot and garlic juice.

Meal 2: Blueberry Kiwi Buckwheat Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce! Created with cashews, oats, buckwheat flour, water, raspberries, kiwi fruit, blueberries, orange juice, and honey!



Meal 3: 2 nectarines.

Meal 4: An avocado.

Meal 5: Chocolate Mud Balls. Created with cocao, agave syrup, brazil nuts, almonds, coconut oil and avocado!



Meal 6: Orange Beef Ginger Stir Fry. Created with orange juice, ginger, garlic, chilli, steak, olive oil, vegetables, honey and sesame seeds.



Recipe: The recipes for Blueberry Kiwi Buckwheat Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce, Chocolate Mud Balls and Orange Beef Ginger Stir Fry are available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: Stretching and walking :)

43 days to go!!!

Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Apple Cake Recipe

A lovely gluten-free apple cake with coconut flour.

The weather here has hula-hooped back into summer. I kid you not. It is ninety-seven degrees here in Little Russia, my West Hollywood neighborhood. As in 97. That's three shy of one hundred, Bubbe. In September. And what am I doing? Baking a cake. Heating up the kitchen. It figures.

As soon as I buy apples and start daydreaming about my favorite fall confections, imagining clear, cool evenings and Eva Cassidy's haunting rendition of Autumn Leaves, September turns sultry and sends me back into the closet, peeling off my straight legged jeans and Converse All Stars faster than Gordon Ramsay can mock sashimi.

So I may as well share my latest gluten-free cake recipe with you. I mean, I suffered extreme heat for it. I hot flashed till I was squishy for it. I panted and sweat until I resembled an over-ripe heirloom tomato. You know, dimpled and dented. Flabby. A little misshapen. And well. Squishy. Not a pretty sight.

Not that I'm trying to induce guilt or anything.

Not me.

So go ahead. Enjoy this new apple cake recipe. Share a slice or two amongst yourselves. Don't worry about me here in hot little WeHo. Really. Go. Bake. Discuss. Have some coffee.

And coffee tawk.

xox


Read more + get the recipe >>

Day 321

Art Work by Thomas Sheridan

Thoughts: Your real life. "I will start tomorrow" - you will never start tomorrow! This is an excuse to avoid what ever is going on NOW! And if you 'screw' up in this moment, who's to say you can't re-create yourself anew in the next moment and start again! We can always start again now, and now and now and now! We are never one way - always changing - we are nothing and our word. I am nothing and my word. If I say I can I can, if I say I can't I can't. Forgive yourself - you are the only one who will do it for you! And as Mother Teresa says 'Life is a struggle - accept it'.

Jinjee Talifero a beautiful being and creator of The Garden Diet says "Your real life is waiting for you! It is already there! Here! It is not something you need to strive and work for or envy others for. Your have your very own! A totally unique life, with its own challenges and joys, woven from the fabric of life by your individual ancestry, environment, choices, beliefs, and the desires of your heart, a life that is rich with meaning, that is a profound story, and that reflects your deepest values. Yet so many little things can keep us from embracing our life, from living this wonderful life fully, from experiencing the stark reality of our breathtaking existence!

Here are some of things I've found that can keep you from living your real life... I believe they are all addictions....

overeating
stinking thinking
negativity
MSG
caffeine, coffee
alcohol and drugs
cigarettes
perfectionism
workaholism
sloth, slovenliness
procrastination
fear
jealousy
hate
blame
doubt

One way Jinjee has found to overcome these and other addictions is with a raw vegan diet, regular exercise and a conscious pursuit of inner balance and harmony.

Quotes: Life is a struggle, accept it. -Mother Teresa

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A pineapple and mint juice :) Freshly juiced of course mmm!

Meal 2: 2 organic nectarines.

Meal 3: Creamy Coconut Balls! Created from honey, lemon, cashew nuts, oats, coconut and vanilla!



Meal 4: A Mango Avocado Salad. Created with mango, avocado, olive oil, the juice of lime and tangerine, fresh coriander (cilantro) and black sesame seeds!



Meal 5: Another nectarine :)

Meal 6: Sweet Sesame Salmon Salad. Created with salmon, honey, sesame seeds, aspargus, cucumber, baby spinach, tomatoes and spring onions (shallots)!



Recipe: Creamy Coconut Balls, Mango Avocado Salad and Sweet Sesame Salmon Salad are available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: A lot of walking today :)

44 days to go!!!

Potatoes and Human Health, Part II

Glycoalkaloids in Commonly Eaten Potatoes

Like many edible plants, potatoes contain substances designed to protect them from marauding creatures. The main two substances we're concerned with are alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine, because they are the most toxic and abundant. Here is a graph of the combined concentration of these two glycoalkaloids in common potato varieties (1):

We can immediately determine three things from this graph:

• Different varieties contain different amounts of glycoalkaloids.
• Common commercial varieties such as russet and white potatoes are low in glycoalkaloids. This is no accident. The glycoalkaloid content of potatoes is monitored in the US.
  
• Most of the glycoalkaloid content is in the skin (within 1 mm of the surface). That way, predators have to eat through poison to get to the flesh. Fortunately, humans have peelers.

I'll jump the gun and tell you that the generally accepted safe level of potato glycoalkaloids is 200 mcg/g fresh weight (1). You can see that all but one variety are well below this level when peeled. Personally, I've never seen the Snowden variety in the store or at the farmer's market. It appears to be used mostly for potato chips.

Glycoalkaloid Toxicity in Animals

Potato glycoalkaloids are undoubtedly toxic at high doses. They have caused many harmful effects in animals and humans, including (1, 2):

• Death (humans and animals)
  
• Weight loss, diarrhea (humans and animals)
  
• Anemia (rabbits)
• Liver damage (rats)
  
• Lower birth weight (mice)
  
• Birth defects (in animals injected with glycoalkaloids)
  
• Increased intestinal permeability (mice)

However, it's important to remember the old saying "the dose makes the poison". The human body is designed to handle a certain amount of plant toxins with no ill effects. Virtually every plant food, and a few animal foods, contains some kind of toxic substance. We're constantly bombarded by gamma rays, ultra violet rays, bacterial toxins, free radicals, and many other potentially harmful substances. In excess, they can be deadly, but we are adapted to dealing with small amounts of them, and the right dose can even be beneficial in some cases.

All of the studies I mentioned above, except one, involved doses of glycoalkaloids that exceed what one could get from eating typical potatoes. They used green or blemished potatoes, isolated potato skins, potato sprouts or isolated glycoalkaloids (more on this later). The single exception is the last study, showing that normal doses of glycoalkaloids can aggravate inflammatory bowel disease in transgenic mice that are genetically predisposed to it (3)*.

What happens when you feed normal animals normal potatoes? Not much. Many studies have shown that they suffer no ill effects whatsoever, even at high intakes (1, 2). This has been shown in primates as well (4, 5, 6). In fact, potato-based diets appear to be generally superior to grain-based diets in animal feed. As early as 1938, Dr. Edward Mellanby showed that grains, but not potatoes, aggravate vitamin A deficiency in rats and dogs (7). This followed his research showing that whole grains, but not potatoes, aggravate vitamin D deficiency due to their high phytic acid content (Mellanby. Nutrition and Disease. 1934). Potatoes were also a prominent part of Mellanby's highly effective tooth decay reversal studies in humans, published in the British Medical Journal in 1932 (8, 9).

Potatoes partially protect rats against the harmful effects of excessive cholesterol feeding, when compared to wheat starch-based feed (10). Potato feeding leads to a better lipid profile and intestinal short-chain fatty acid production than wheat starch or sugar in rats (11). I wasn't able to find a single study showing any adverse effect of normal potato feeding in any normal animal. That's despite reading two long review articles on potato glycoalkaloids and specifically searching PubMed for studies showing a harmful effect. If you know of one, please post it in the comments section.

In the next post, I'll write about the effects of potatoes in the human diet, including data on the health of traditional potato-eating cultures... and a curious experiment by the Washington State Potato Commission that will begin on October 1.


*Interleukin-10 knockout mice. IL-10 is a cytokine involved in the resolution of inflammation and these mice develop inflammatory bowel disease (regardless of diet) due to a reduced capacity to resolve inflammation.

Food Finds: Fig Jam

It feels like a little secret I need to share. And maybe I’ll discover from your responses that only I was the last to find out.  It’s about jam. Fig jam. Seem strange?

Keep in mind that looks aren’t everything. The fig, dried fig especially, would hardly draw you to it from its appearance. But the jam from this fruit truly enhances many foods, I’ve discovered. I’ve tried a few brands, but so far my favorite two are Bonne Maman (from France) and Organic Adriatic Fig Spread (a product of Croatia, it says). Both are easily found in US supermarkets (at least those in the suburbs in New England).  I even indulged at Williams-Sonoma (I had a gift certificate) and paid about $15 for a jar, but it didn’t compare to the other two brands which price at $4-5.

Why such affection for this product? It's a combination of its sweetness, which serves as a perfect and unexpected complement to a range of foods, and its texture, with its tiny seeds and chewy fruit pieces. And for a minimal addition of calories, it truly enhances the pleasure of eating so many foods!

So far, here are my favorite uses:

Spread on a sandwich with a strong cheese (an aged cheddar, goat cheese, or Manchego, a delicious Spanish cheese), topped with some baby spinach greens. Totally yum! I promise to add a photo of this soon, but today I had soup for lunch instead!

Dropped by teaspoonfuls onto homemade pizza. Yes, even with the tomato sauce, it works surprisingly well. Alternatively, buy some dried figs, slice them up and toss on the pizza instead.

As a topping on fish, especially salmon or other strong flavored fish. Spread it lightly when the fish is just about done cooking. Or, mix up a simple sauce, adding some balsamic vinegar to a few tablespoons of the fig jam to thin it out. A bit of Dijon mustard can be mixed in as well.

Mixed  into a cup of plain yogurt. A tablespoon will do. Delicious!

 Dried figs are quite high in fiber, probably the highest fiber fruit you'll find. From the estimates I've seen, they contain about 2 grams per single piece of dried fruit. About 3-4 pieces (that's 6-8 grams of fiber) would be the equivalent of eating a full size fresh fruit, such as an apple. But the jam, in the quantities you'll be using, won't make a dent in your fiber intake. Oh well. Guess you'll just have to include it in your diet because it tastes good!

Enjoy! And please share your creations with fig jam!

Day 320

We have all heard about the meat industry and how it is linked to billions of dollars as well as countless drugs. Today’s industrialized process reduces the nutritional value of the meat, stresses the animals, increases the risk of bacterial contamination, pollutes the environment and exposes consumers to a long list of unwanted chemicals. You can’t see it. And you can’t always recognize it by reading the label.

So I spoke with Dr Edward Kachab, PhD of Chemical Free Kids who witnessed the processing of meat and discovered how every step of animal farm production is controlled with drugs! Edwards shares what drugs are used and exactly how this affects the animals and us when we consume it in the body...

Did you know that farm animals in large-scale animal housing where large numbers of animals are assembled into small areas of land or water are continuously dosed with drugs for most of their life-span to keep them healthy and increase production???

Such is the economy of large-scale animal production of meat, milk and eggs intended for our supermarket shelves. For example, chicken, egg, pig, veal and fish production. I wasn’t terribly aware of what was really involved until I took this area up as a research topic during my post-graduate studies. My supervisor asked me to develop a diagnostic kit to detect these drugs in sheep. I discovered that drugs are added at very high doses to prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases and for growth promotion. In fact, it’s a common practice in animal farming to add antibiotics and anabolic agents to the animal feed to fatten up them and improve the overall efficiency of production.

I got to find out that every step of animal farm production is controlled with the use of drugs. Drugs with potent hormonal activity are used to control reproduction for example in ruminants and pigs. Other drugs such as prostaglandins and their analogues are used to regulate fertility and breeding programs whilst glucocorticoids are used to control timing of production. In fact, drugs are added to farm animals almost right up to the point before they are killed. As farmers need their animals to weight as much as possible for maximum returns, beta-adrenogenic blocking agents are given to sheep, cows and pigs whilst they are on their way to the slaughter house to reduce any weight loss due to the stressful circumstances of transportation. Once animals make it to the slaughter house, the drug dosing doesn’t necessarily stop; some may be dosed with even more drugs such as certain tranquilizers to stop anxiety or prevent heart failure or to curb aggressive behaviour.

If you’re beginning to wonder if food production is all about the economy, the answer to your question is yes! At the end of the day farmers or food manufacturers are interested in making a profit. They are set up to produce ‘food’ for a profit. They are not in the business of keeping you healthy. For that you need to find a good company that specializes in wellness. So let’s take a closer look at what happens when all these drug enter the body of farm animals?

In a best case scenario, once the drugs enter the blood stream they go to the liver where most of the drug gets metabolised and then excreted by the kidneys with little or no drug residues left in the animal body. However, there are many drugs that are not easily metabolised and eliminated from the body and these drugs enter the muscle, the skin and the fat where it gets deposited and stored and accumulate over time and over repeated dosing. Some people report experiencing an allergic reaction when eating a piece of animal fat but not to the meat itself as it is in the animal fat where some drugs accumulate at their highest concentration. Drugs or their metabolites can also make their way to milk and eggs as that may be the route in which the animal may eliminate the drugs or toxins from their body.

What are some of the regulations?

Regulations require that when drugs are administered to farm animals a certain period of time know as the ‘withdrawal period’ must elapse before the animals are killed or before eggs and milk are collected so that sufficient time lapses for most drug residues to be cleared from the system. However, drug residues exceeding the recommended levels continue to be detected for many drugs. One of the most common reasons for this is that animals are killed before the withdrawal time is animals with amounts much higher than they are supposed to. Drugs administered just before the animals are killed don’t have time to be eliminated and often result in high residue levels in the meat. If the drug is administered as an injection it can be localized at very extremely high levels at the site of the injection.

What are the health risks from these drug residues?

The two main health risks to humans is either toxicity on the body or microbiological effects. For example, some drug residues have been reported to be cancer causing agents or having an effect on the reproductive system. They may even act on the endocrine system and act as hormone disruptors. The presence of antibiotic residues in food may result in allergic side effects for individuals who are already sensitized to these antibiotics. For example; penicillin. Regular exposure to antibiotics from food containing these antibiotic residues can result in the built up of antimicrobial resistance by human pathogens and the disturbance of the healthy bacteria naturally occurring in the gut. This then gives rise to an increasing population of parasites inhabiting the gut.

So where do we go from here?

I have put together an action plan for you to support you in reducing your exposure to toxic drug residues from farm animals that when implemented will make you feel Good!

Your six-step Action Plan to feeling Good!
• Avoid or reduce the amount of meat that you consume and if you are a meat lover then simply go organic.
• Eat smaller portions of meat and make vegetables or salad your main portion.
• Always take a good pro-biotic to restore and keep the microflora of your gut healthy.
• Don’t drink water with your meal and wait for 30 or 45 min before drinking any fluids for your digestive enzymes to work at their optimal best.
• Exercise daily and drink lots of water.
• Try one of The Earth Diet recipes. You can do this one just for fun too below the Sweet Meat Stir Fry using Organic Free Range Grass Fed Cows: )

Dr Edward Kachab, PhD
The Earth Diet

The Earth Diet – Feel Good!

Another look at meat and it's health risks in my blog Day 168.

Quotes: "I have done my best", that is about all the philosophy of living that one needs....Lin-yutang.

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: An avocado.

Meal 2: A beetroot (beet), carrot, celery and ginger juice :)

Meal 3: A orange and grapefruit juice mmm!

Meal 4: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups! I love this after a workout :) Raw and healthy!



Meal 5: Some brazil nuts :)

Meal 6: Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms!



Meal 7: Organic Sweet Meat Stir Fry. Created with olive oil, asparagus, capsicum (red bell pepper), ginger, garlic, green onion, chillis and honey!



Recipe: The Recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms and Sweet Meat Stir Fry are available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: A 1 hour Zumba class at Big Al's Family Fitness with Raphael! Such a fun class - I love being able to move my body in so many ways and use so many muscles all in one class!

45 days to go!!!