Wednesday, September 28, 2011

5 Super-Foods that are Probably Already in Your Cupboard


When considering the typical American diet full of fried foods, nutritionally-flawed fast food, and the ever-increasing amount of sugar and chemical additives, it leaves one wondering how in the world anyone lives to a ripe old age!

It turns out that hidden in the typical western diet of highly-toxic processed foods are wonders of nature that you'd never suspect are really health foods.
Here, then, is a short list of the five most powerful health-enhancing foods that don't seem like health foods but which are quite possibly already in your cupboard – foods that help to ward off disease even when the rest of the diet is not so healthy.

#1 - Mustard
Mustard, believe it or not, is a medicinal paste made from the seed of the mustard plant. It's a superfood that's been around for at least 5,000 years, and it's one of the few common sources of the anti-carcinogen, selenium, a trace mineral often absent from our produce because of over-farmed soil.
Mustard is known to help in reducing migraines, and it's a natural anti-fungal and antiseptic. Another benefit of mustard is that it's never made with MSG or yeast extract. Mustard products -- even conventional products from non-health-food companies -- are still very healthful to consume.

#2 - Cole Slaw

Cole slaw is made out of one of the most powerful natural medicines in the food kingdom: raw cabbage.

Raw cabbage is a proven cure for stomach ulcers. It's also an amazing anti-cancer food that can help prevent (or even reverse) many types of cancer. Cabbage has been one of the most medicinal foods ever consumed in the history of mankind. It's also good for you even when cooked, such as in the case of cabbage soup, or fermented, such as in sauerkraut.

Cabbage is rich in indole-3-carbinol (I3C), one of its many anti-cancer nutrients.
It's best to make your own cole slaw at home, but if you purchase store-bought cole slaw, be sure to avoid processed ingredients often used in cheaper cole slaw recipes, such as high-fructose corn syrup and canola oil (which is often GMO).

#3 - Cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, paprika and other spices
Nearly all the pungent cooking spices are actually powerful medicines.

Cinnamon, for example, helps regulate blood sugar in diabetics. Cinnamon is also a powerful anti-microbial agent (i.e. it kills bad bacteria).
Cloves are the No. 1 source for the highest density of antioxidants found in the entire food supply. Yes, cloves have a higher ORAC value (an antioxidant score) than any other food or spice.

Rosemary is a great source of antioxidants as well, and is also a powerful digestive tonic, anti-inflammatory, and internal detoxification herb.
Ginger is legendary as an immune-boosting, circulation-enhancing tonic herb that's also fantastic for beating winter colds and flu. Ginger even works to relieve muscle pain!

If you like curry, then you'll be glad to know that turmeric, the main ingredient in curry, is also an amazing source of natural medicines. It's a powerful anti-cancer as well as an anti-inflammatory medicine.
In Southern and Midwestern cuisine, barbeque sauce is a surprisingly good source of bitter alkaloids and health-enhancing spices (often including mustard and paprika), but this is only true with the rich, homemade sauces, not the highly-processed super-market sauces, which are usually loaded with sweeteners.

Nearly all the common spices you find in grocery stores are medicinal foods.

#4 - Raisins
Raisins may not sound unusually healthy, but if you think about what they really are, it becomes obvious how powerful they can be as a health food. Raisins are dried grapes, of course, meaning they contain all the natural phytonutrients of grape skins.

Remember: Most of the phytonutrients in grapes is found in the skin. This is why it's so important to buy only organic raisins, because grapes sprayed with fungicides have low levels of resveratrol – one of the most powerful of all the nutrients found in grapes. Organic grapes have the highest levels of resveratrol.

Raisins are also very high in naturally-occurring antioxidants, making them a fantastic overall source of nutrition.

#5 - Common nuts: Walnuts, pecans, peanuts, etc.
Once again, nuts may not be on your list of the healthiest foods, but they probably should be. Walnuts are an amazing natural medicine that helps reduce the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. They're very high in natural antioxidants and also help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Pecans boost brain protection and also help lower cholesterol levels. Almonds are now being widely used to make almond milk (a natural anti-cancer milk beverage) and almond butter, and even the common peanut is now making a comeback as a health food.

Just remember: When you buy nuts, raw is best because heat processing destroys the phytonutrients found in foods. Avoid "salted" nuts because they're almost always salted with toxic sodium chloride (simple table salt). Avoid "flavored" nuts because they almost always are made with MSG flavor enhancers such as yeast extract or autolyzed proteins. Just look for plain, simple, unsalted nuts.

So there you have it: Five simple and common foods that you probably didn’t know were healthy super foods.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

The Top Ten Most Evil Additives Hiding in Your Food


Have you ever stopped to ponder what's really in the food sold at your local grocery stores?

This post will be focused on helping you to identify them so that you can avoid these disease-causing chemical additives. If you want to stay healthy and out of the doctor’s office, read ingredients labels and make sure you avoid the following ingredients:

Acrylamides – These are toxic, cancer-causing chemicals formed in foods when carbohydrates are exposed to high heat from baking, frying, and grilling. They're present in everything from bread crusts to snack chips, and because they aren't intentional ingredients, acrylamides do NOT have to be listed on labels. But you can avoid them simply by eating fresh whole foods and avoiding packaged foods.

Aspartame – This is a very evil chemical sweetener that causes neurological disorders, seizures, blurred vision and migraine headaches. (http://www.naturalnews.com/030918_a...)

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein – This is a highly processed form of protein that's processed to bring out the free glutamate (MSG). MSG is now being used less because of the bad press it began getting, but these taste-enhancing alternatives have the same health risks, namely the health risks associated with the brain.

BPA (Bisphenol-A - BPA is a hormone mimicking chemical found in nearly all food packaging plastics. Active in even very tiny amounts, BPA promotes cancer, infertility and hormone disorders. It also "feminizes" males, promoting male breast growth and hormone disruption.

High Fructose Corn Syrup - A highly processed liquid sugar extracted with the chemical solvent, glutaraldehyde, and frequently contaminated with mercury. It's also linked to diabetes, obesity and mood disorders. Used in thousands of grocery items, including things you wouldn't suspect like pizza sauce and salad dressings. Sometimes it appears on labels as simply, “corn syrup,” but it’s the same thing. These ingredients are used as friendlier-sounding forms of the evil white sugar.

Food Colorings – There are food coloring in nearly everything. FD&C Red #40, for example, is linked to behavioral disorders in children. Nearly all artificial food colors are derived from petroleum, and many are contaminated with aluminum. Yellow #5, or tartrazine, is also used to keep the eyes on potatoes from sprouting, but it is a neurotoxin.


Phosphoric Acid - This acid is used in sodas to dilute the carbon dioxide and add to the overall fizzy-ness of the drink. Phosphoric acid will dissolve nails! It's also used by stone masons to etch rocks. The military uses it to clean the rust off battleships. It absolutely destroys tooth enamel and contributes to bone loss. Search Google Images for "Mountain Dew Mouth" to see photos of teeth rotted out by phosphoric acid: http://www.google.com/search?q=moun...

Sodium Nitrite - A cancer-causing red coloring chemical added to bacon, hot dogs, sausage, beef jerky, ham, lunch meats, pepperoni and nearly all processed meats. It is strongly linked to brain tumors, pancreatic cancers, and colon cancers. The USDA once tried to ban it from the food supply but was out-maneuvered by the meat industry, which now dominates USDA regulations. Sodium nitrite is a complete poison used to make meats look fresh. Countless children die of cancer each year from sodium nitrite-induced cancers.

Sucralose – This is an artificial chemical sweetener sold under the name, Splenda. The sucralose molecule contains a chlorine atom. Researchers have repeatedly found that artificial sweeteners contribute to weight gain and neurological problems such as seizures, blindness, and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's-like symptoms.

Yeast Extract – Yeast extract is a hidden form of MSG that contains free glutamate and is used in many "natural" food products so that they can claim "No MSG!" Yeast extract contains up to 14% free glutamate! You'll find it in thousands of grocery store products, from soups to snack chips, and even fresh meat on occasion.

How to buy Truly Healthy and Honest Food
• Shop at your local farmer's market, food co-op, or CSA.

• In the USA, look for the USDA Organic label on foods. This is a legitimate claim to being certified organic. It's one of the few programs run by the USDA that actually has integrity.

• Read the ingredients labels! If you see names of chemicals you can't pronounce, don't buy it.

• Buy more unprocessed food ingredients and make your own meals rather than buying ready-to-eat, processed foods, which are almost universally formulated with disease-promoting ingredients.

• GROW some of your own food! The best food you can ever eat is food from your own garden.

Even when a person attempts to buy truly healthy food, however, it's nearly impossible to avoid food additives completely. If you eat out in restaurants at all, even in upscale dining establishments, you are eating food additives. If you eat ANYTHING out of a box or package, you are eating food additives.

The way to combat the deadly food additives lurking in our foods is to 1) supplement with powerful antioxidants and other nutrients to render the chemicals and oxidative stress that the chemicals cause ineffective, and 2) undergo a periodic detoxification program to help the body cleanse itself of potentially-deadly toxins.

Learn more about detoxification by accessing my posts on that subject in the sidebar. There is also a post on antioxidants that you can find in the sidebar as well that should shed some additional light on that subject.