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Nutrition -

Sorting Through the Maze!

Have you heard so many differing opinions on nutrition that you are totally confused?

I know what that's like and it is no fun!

It doesn't help that commercial interests control so much of the research and media coverage that we can hardly know what to believe or disbelieve anymore. Even school nutrition programs are riddled with propaganda from the meat and dairy industries. That's why I feel it is so important to provide an unbiased source of information that is not based on economic motivation.

I have devoted much of my life to finding out the truth about diet and nutrition (including making myself something of a human guinea pig by experimenting with my own diet choices). I've read dozens of books on the subject and constantly update my knowledge by reading journals and articles from a variety of sources.

It's one of my passions and I want to share it with as many people as possible. The overall state of health in America, particularly in children, is alarming. Obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are on the rise and it appears that there is no solution in sight, yet we have had the solutions all along.

Though the exact same diet may not be ideal for everyone, there are general guidelines that can help anyone achieve optimal health. Within these guidelines, each person has to trust their own intuition and appetite to maintain a healthy balance of nutrients for their own body.

Common Sense Nutritional Recommendations
based on extensive research and personal experience:

Whole foods are essential to health.
It is important to avoid refined carbohydrates like white sugar, corn syrup, white flour products (i.e. bread, pasta, crackers, cookies, etc.), and processed foods of all kinds. They simply do not provide the nutrition your body needs. There are excellent whole-grain alternatives available for all the white flour products mentioned above.

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Organic vegetables provide most necessary nutrients.
Include a wide variety of fresh, organic, raw and cooked vegetables in your daily diet. Organic vegetables provide a wider spectrum of minerals than commercially grown. Also, pesticide spray residues have been found in children who eat commercially grown foods. Choose organic! For more information visit - The 17 most important foods to eat organic

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Excess animal products contribute to heart disease and cancer.
Avoid animal products, or make sure they make up no more than 10% of your diet. (It has been suggested that people with type O blood may need a small amount of animal protein to maintain ideal health. I am not aware of conclusive research one way or the other.)

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Eat Sprouts!
Sprouted seeds have an amazing array of vitamins and amino acids - far more than the original seed and a great deal more than most vegetables. You can easily grow them yourself. They are the freshest, most living foods on the planet, and are very economical. For more information read - Ann Wigmore's sprouting book

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Avoid milk and cheese.
Dairy products have been linked with childhood diabetes, allergies, auto-immune diseases, and heart disease. Furthermore, the highest rates of osteoporosis are found in populations that consume the most dairy products! Excess phosphorus in dairy products and meat causes leaching of calcium from bones and teeth.

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Consider avoiding gluten.
Wheat and other grains containing gluten have been linked with auto-immune diseases and allergies. Some people simply cannot digest gluten properly. Pay attention to how you feel after eating wheat, oats, rye, and barley. If in doubt, leave it out!

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Eat a plant-based diet.
Vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds form the basis of the ideal diet. Because, degenerative diseases have been linked to consumption of animal products, it is best to avoid them as much as possible. For more information read - The China Study

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Take a Sublingual Vitamin B-12 Supplement
Contrary to common belief, B-12 deficiency is common in meat eaters as well as vegans. Though B12 can be manufactured by microbes in the body, antibiotics and antibacterial foods like onions, garlic, and radishes can destroy the microbes responsible for making B-12. For more information visit - http://www.naturalnews.com/023075.html
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/b12issue.html strawberry

Include "Super foods."
Recent research has identified several foods that contain more than their share of healthy nutrients, like berries, broccoli, walnuts, almonds, sprouts, seaweeds, hemp seeds, spirulina, spinach, and pumpkin. Enjoy them frequently for a boost in health and vitality. For more information read - SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life

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Proteins in the morning.
The liver processes heavy protein foods best in the morning, so that's the best time to eat tofu, nuts, and beans (and of course animal products). Heavy starches and fruits are digested better in the afternoon and evening. For more information read - The Pro-Vita Plan

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Use Flax oil enriched with DHA
Because the American diet is so high in Omega 6 fatty acids from
sunflower, safflower, corn, cottonseed, and soy oils, as well as egg yolk, meat and dairy products, it is important to supplement with an oil high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Ideally, you should maintain a 1:3 balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6. Flax oil enriched with DHA, is an excellent alternative to the fish oils that can often contain mercury.

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Eat 80% Raw!
Raw foods provide essential enzymes and vitamins that are destroyed by cooking. In addition, raw foods contain twice as much protein as cooked foods, because many amino acids are destroyed by heat. A few nutrients, however, are more available in cooked foods, so it is good to combine a small amount of cooked food with a predominantly raw meal.

Scroll down for Eco - Diet connections and more

Bernadette Wulf
EFT - Reiki Master
Health & Wellness Coach
Phone (707) 824-0675

Bernadette Wulf

Nutrition and Planet Earth

Stop Global Warming - Eliminate meat and dairy!
American meat eaters are responsible for 1.5 more tons of carbon dioxide per person than vegetarians every year. An estimated 18 % of greenhouse gases are created by cattle raised for meat and dairy products! In a 2006 report, the United Nations (U.N.) said that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined!!! What's good for you is also good for the planet - more information

Save the Birds, Bees, Butterflies, & Frogs - Buy Organic!
Untold numbers of birds, insects, frogs, and other creatures are killed each year by pesticide sprays. Eating organic foods is the most compassionate choice, and it's better for your health!

Feed the Children - Stop eating meat!
The U.N. World Food Council has estimated that transferring "ten to fifteen per cent of cereals now fed to livestock is enough to raise the world’s food supply to feed current levels" of the human population. Isn't it worth giving up meat to aleviate world hunger and improve your health at the same time?

Save Water - Go Vegetarian
Nearly half of the water in the United States is used to raise animals for food! For more information read - The Food Revolution by John Robbins. Protect our most precious resource by eliminating meat from your diet. Appreciate the wonder of water - The Hidden Messages in Water

Live your compassion

If you have ever loved a pet, you know they have feelings just like we do. Like dogs and cats, cows, pigs, and chickens have their own unique personalities that deserve respect. Imagine how peaceful our world would be if we developed compassion for all living beings, including each other. Love and appreciation can heal your heart. Why not start living it now?

Science & Government

Science has made great strides in helping us cure and prevent some diseases through better sanitation, education, and medicine, but another side of science threatens to undermine the very foundations of health.

Genetic manipulation of seeds, upon which entire populations are dependent for food, seems to be a very risky enterprise to me. I hear they have even created a goat that gives silk instead of milk! I guess they just changed one letter in the word. (That was supposed to be comic releif.) Come on folks! Can't we use our intelligence for something more humane?

Our scientists have created toxic pesticide crop sprays that disrupt human intestinal flora, as well planetary ecosystems. The new trend of irradiating foods destroys the life force in fresh foods. Now the USDA wants to irradiate fresh produce, in addition read labels

to "raw" almonds and spices. And food scientists have come up with so many additives that we have to bring a magnifying glass to the grocery store to read the small print on most packages - even those that claim to be "natural."

Our government in the USA is heavily influenced by huge pharmaceutical corporations, biotech giants like Monsanto, and the commercial agribusiness industry. When it comes to protecting public health, it looks like we are on our own!

What can "we the people" do
to safeguard oursleves from this nonsense?

Here are a few ideas that can put the power back in the hands of "we the people," where it belongs. Some of them may begin to sound familiar:

Vote with your dollars

"We the people" control the economy and therefore the corporations and the government. They all want to make money. That is their purpose for existing. So, they will only produce what we will buy. The quickest and simplest way to stop genetic engenering of our foods, toxic sprays, irradiation, and any other insult thrust upon our food supply is to stop buying it!

Reclaiming the power of "we the people"

Buy Organic - thus avoiding pesticides, artificial color, artificial flavor, preservatives, irradiation - and silk in your milk!

Reclaiming the power of "we the people"

Buy Local - thus supporting small business and your local economy, while also aleviating global warming by reducing the need for shipping, which produces a large percentage of greenhouse gases. If you shop at farmer's markets, you may even be able to talk to the growers to find out exactly how their products were grown.

Reclaiming the power of "we the people"

Make it yourself - thus avoiding dangerous food additives, while pulling the financial rug out from under unscrupulous producers who care more for their bottom line than they do about your health. Cooking from scratch is the new "cool." Look for quick, easy recipes to replace packaged fast-foods.

Reclaiming the power of "we the people"

Grow it yourself - thus providing the freshest, healthiest food on the planet. Even better, gardening is one of the best forms of exercise and has been linked with healthy old age! Even if you don't have a yard, you can grow nutritions sprouts in your kitchen, and a variety of vegetables in containers on a deck or patio.

It's Up to You -

While your beliefs and positive thoughts can create health in spite of dietary choices, doesn't it also make sense to give your body the best possible nutrition?

Try eating an organic, whole-foods, plant-based diet for one month and see how you feel. If you are like me, you will never want to go back to the Standard American Diet (SAD).

Trust your natural appetite.
You will find that, after eating a whole foods diet for a few weeks, most junk foods will lose their appeal. Sodas and most cookies and cakes will seem way too sugary. You will come to enjoy the tastes and textures of vegetables and fruits in their natural state.

Go Ethnic!
Most ethnic cuisines have abundant vegetarian options, particularly Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Middle Eastern foods. Try a Thai pumpkin curry, spiced Indian Dahl with brown rice, Middle Eastern falafel and humus, and Chinese snow peas and shitake mushrooms with tofu.

I hope you will enjoy exploring all the delicious vegetarian options available, and create yummy dishes of your own. The choices are endless.

Visit my Amazon store for more information on the - Best Health Books, Foods, & Supplements

Note: I prefer that you support your local economy by buying these products from your own local bookstore or natural food store. I offer them here for your information and to make them available to those who cannot find them locally.

The Choice is Yours -

Be kind to your body

Be kind to our planet