AYURVEDA AND RAW FOODS

How do we make sense of all of the different theories out there?

I often get questions about Ayurveda and raw foods. People ask things like "according to my dosha, I shouldn't eat raw food." 

First and foremost, if you are in tune with your own intuition, you should use what resonates intuitively with you. For many people though, it appears as there is just a sea of conflicting information.

Here is how I personally answer the question for myself. For one thing, I believe all ancient traditional healing modalities have value to some degree.  I have studied both Ayurveda and TCM, as well as Shamanic Healing, and ALL have provided us with invaluable treasures in healing.

However, having said that, human biology and nutrition is science, and for that reason, I typically rely on evidence based science when taking or giving nutritional advice.

I have personally witnessed profound spiritual and emotional healing, as well as people recovering from addictions, under the guidance of a very powerful Indigenous Shamanic Healer, so I have no doubt that healing takes place on levels that our science is a long way from understanding. So, that is not what I am referring to here.

Biologically, for physical health, we are humans. Humans (Homo sapiens) are primates of the family Hominidae, and the only living species of the genus Homo. We have evolved certain physiologic traits such as long digestive tracts, blunt (not sharp) molars, and others that link us all together as a species, not based on where we live. So, nutritionally speaking, science based evidence of health is a solid foundation for us to use when determining the type of eating we are best suited for. 

The reason these facts are important is because as a species, we thrive on a diet that is the consistent. Of course, as humans migrated and moved all over our planet. Humans in their incredible adaptability have been able to survive on diets as varied as almost all meat and blood (like the Masai) or mostly whale blubber (as in the Inuit in Canada or Eskimo of Alaska), or predominantly grain and legume based, as in parts of India and China.

Does that mean those diets are all ideal? No. Surviving and thriving are not the same. The Inuits for example have extremely high rates of heart disease as a result of their diet.

Ayurveda is a folk medicine that is ancient, and based on pre-scientific concepts. An important consideration is that it relies upon many herbs that can contain dangerous quantities of heavy metals, including lead, mercury, thallium and arsenic; not just as contaminants, but that are added deliberately in order to supposedly return the body to health by "rebalancing essential minerals".

See:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081023101226.htm

Rasa shastra, the practice of adding metals, minerals or gems to herbs, is a source of toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic. Adverse reactions to herbs are actually  described in traditional ayurvedic texts, but ayurvedic practitioners are sometimes unaware.

Clinical trials of Ayurveda and its efficacy have been small, poorly designed studies, and lack appropriate control groups. So ultimately, due to it's lack of an evidentiary body of science, I don't put too much stock in the principles for nutritional health and healing on a physical level. That's not to say that the spiritual and emotional elements of Ayurveda are not profoundly effective.

I did a post a while back on oil pulling, when it was making it's rounds on the internet as a miracle for pulling toxins from the body. In my post, I discuss how biologically that does not happen. It can be good for keeping mouth bacteria at bay, and in two studies, it was shown to be "as effective" as mouthwash. Miracle cure? No. Healthy gums and teeth, sure!

Dr. Gabriel Cousens provides what I think is an interesting intersection between Ayurveda and Raw Foods in his 800 page tome "Conscious Eating" where he talks about the tridosha system, the five elements, and how they manifest in the human psychosomatic complex. I think his theories are interesting, but very esoteric, and not really pragmatic for most people in their day to day lives. The theories are complex, and require very austere adherence to restricted food lists.

With the word dosha being defined by Dr. Robert Svoboda as  "things can go out of whack", I do think that things do get out of whack with our bodies all the time.

And consistently over the last 50 years, a massive body of solid science research has shown that a diet that is predominantly whole food -- plant based -- lots of raw -- supports the best health in the human species, regardless of one's dosha.

SOAKING AND SPROUTING NUTS: MINI-CLASS!

SOAKING AND SPROUTING NUTS, SEEDS, GRAINS AND LEGUMES

We often hear that we need to "soak our nuts", as well as seeds and grains, before consuming. But, really, how important is it? And, how exactly do we do it?

 
Nature has an ingenious mechanism to protect nuts, grains and seeds, so they survive until the best growing conditions are present. Nature’s own defense mechanism provides enzyme inhibitors and toxic substances on the nuts, seeds and grains, including phytates, polyphenols, and goitrogens.
 

These inhibitors are naturally removed in nature when there is enough rain to sustain a new plant after the nut, grain or seed germinates.  After rain, the nuts, grains and seeds get wet and can then germinate to produce plants. So all we are doing when we soak our nuts, grains and seeds is taking a cue from Mother Nature!

What are Enzyme Inhibitors and Phytates?
We all have natural enzymes that are required to help our body break down the food that we eat, in order to assimilate the nutrients.  Enzyme inhibitors are substances that prevent this from happening properly by actually blocking our enzyme receptor sites in the body.  

Phytates are actually antioxidants contained in the outer layer of all grains, known as the "bran". And, they actually do have some benefits like the potential to stop cancer cells from growing. Organizations like The Weston A. Price Foundation and the book "Nourishing Traditions" erroneously claim that grains are the enemy.  But as Dr. Fuhrman points out in regards to that book, "Fanciful folklore is no match for modern science".

However,  over-consumption of unsoaked grains does increase the amount of phytic acid in your body, and can lead to health problems. The primary issue with phytic acid is that it combines with minerals in the body such as calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc -- preventing absorption of these minerals.  If we are consuming too many unsoaked grains, it is possible that it may result in iron and calcium deficient related bone loss.  

The media-hyped push to get more fiber from bran and other grains is therefore quite detrimental to our overall health. People are often told to increase their consumption of foods like cereals and bran, all of which are unsoaked and unsprouted. So, while you may see an initial benefit with more regular bowel habits, eventually this excessive amount of phytic acid can lead to serious intestinal distress such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  

Thus, there is a balance between the two extremes of avoiding grains -- a bad idea considering the amazing health benefits and nutrients in grains -- and eating a typical plant based grain-heavy diet. Balance is key.  

A diet that is plant based and high raw with an abundance of fresh, water containing fruits and vegetables certainly has room to include small amounts of very healthful (best if gluten free) grains, beans and legumes that have been soaked and preferably sprouted. In addition to nuts and seeds.

A Summary of The Main Reasons to soak nuts, grains, legumes and seeds:

1. To remove phytic acid.

2. To remove tannins.

3. To neutralize enzyme inhibitors.

4. To increase the amounts of vitamins, especially B vitamins.

6. To break down gluten and make digestion easier.

7. To make the proteins more readily available for absorption.

8. To prevent mineral deficiencies and bone loss.

How Do You Soak and Sprout?

Nuts, seeds and grains all have different soaking times, I've posted a complete chart with soaking and sprouting times at Facebook/RawganicVegan.  The basic procedure is the same. Place the nuts, seeds or grains in a glass jar and cover with room temperature water. Cover loosely, and let sit for the recommended soak time. Once soaked, drain and rinse, and you can begin the sprouting process. 

For most sprouts, place drained nuts, seeds, legumes or grains back in glass jar, tilt at a 45degree angle to continue draining water out. Cover loosely with cheesecloth or a mesh lid designed for sprouting. Keep out of direct sunlight. You will begin to see "tails" sprouting, and in general, most foods are at their optimum taste when the tails are fairly small. This is especially true with lentils, which can become bitter if sprouted too long. 

It really is an easy process overall. Once your nuts, seeds or grains are soaked (and if you went the extra step, sprouted), you can decide to eat or use them right away, or dehydrate them. I do a little of both. We soak and sprout each week, and then dry the majority for use in recipes. We love sprouted buckwheat cereal that has been dehydrated, so it is nice and crispy. It is also great to use in recipes. Sprouted almonds and other nuts that have been dehydrated are perfect for making raw snack bars. The wet almonds I almost always use for almond milk. Bean sprouts we eat fresh on salads, or juice them to extract the maximum life force energy from the sprouts!

NUTRITIONISTS TIP: It is helpful to spray the nuts, seeds or grains with a mix of water and food grade hydrogen peroxide in order to inhibit mold growth. This is especially helpful if you live in a humid environment. 

Happy soaking!

 

NEGATIVE IONS AND WHY YOUR HEALTH DEPENDS ON THEM!

5 WAYS TO INCREASE NEGATIVE IONS IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT AND WHY IT MATTERS

Many people who work indoors, or who live in cities, or who are in their home for most of the day are exposed to excessive amounts of positive ions from computers and other electronic equipment as well as fluorescent lighting. Excessive positive ions lead to stress, agitation and lethargy. Positive ions are also released by: cell phones, televisions, heaters, electric blankets and even man-made fibers in carpets, clothes and furniture.

It is important to increase our exposure to negative ions which balance this energy, making us feel rejuvenated and energized. Negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain; resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy.

Negative ions help relieve stress, and also strengthen the immune system. It's one reason why most people feel invigorated after being near a waterfall, or at the beach. Waterfalls and the ocean's movement create negative ions that help balance out the positive ions and they also help stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system which controls rest, digestion and sleep.

Negative ions are EXTREMELY important to good health. In fact, negative ion therapy is actually used to treat certain conditions. Many generations in Europe have used negative ion treatment for chronic congestion problems by staying for a period of time in salt mines. This is a form of treatment called Speleotherapy. The very dry, negative ion environment of these salt mines helps to clear out bronchial tubes and sinuses, and to kill bacteria and other microbes.
 
You can balance the ions in your immediate environment (whether home or work) by:

1. Using a Himalayan Crystal Salt lamp

2. Diffusing certain essential oils. We use the following oils in our home, especially around computers and other electronics:

~ Clove
~ Cypress
~ Eucalyptus
~ Marjoram
~ Pine
~ Rosemary
~ Thyme
~ Ylang Ylang

3. Get to the beach or a nearby waterfall and spend some time there.

4. Go out in nature and walk barefoot on the earth. The earth is charged with negative ions.

5. Get some indoor potted plants.

Follow these tips and you will soon feel physically, mentally and emotionally more at peace. You are likely to sleep better, make better food choices, and overall experience less stress.

WEIGHT LOSS AND FASTING

ON THE SUBJECT OF WEIGHT LOSS AND FASTING....

I have conducted countless fasts in large groups, small groups, in person and online. In my last in person group fast of 20 people, a total of over 300 pounds was lost over 21 days by the group.

On a proper balanced juice fast with detox protocol, people will experience different amounts of weight loss. Recently in my online Eat Juice Thrive community, one woman lost 10 pounds in 4 days, her friend lost 2, and felt a little disappointed. Others lost weight who weren't overweight to begin with, and did not like the weight loss.

First, I have to say that we need to look at what "weight loss" really is. Ultimately, what we want is to be at a healthy FAT PERCENTAGE, and rid the body of toxins. And those are measurements that cannot be done by a scale. 

Women in particular have been accustomed for much of their lives to be slaves to a scale. If it's a good number, they feel great about themselves. If it's too high or too low in their mind, then they are feeling bad and defeated. That singular small machine has had the power to make or break the day of millions of women.

Truly, I believe people should throw their scales away. I know most people won't do that because it is scary. But just for a moment, imagine what indigenous women living in a Peruvian rainforest right now would say to those of us Westerners whose lives are either up or down based on a number on a scale. My guess is that they would find that a very crazy thing. It can be helpful to get some perspective.

But even if you can't throw away your scale, at least commit to weighing yourself only once a week -- or better yet -- once a month. 

Other than obesity or extreme underweight, science has shown us that weight on a scale does not indicate the health of your body. Your weight fluctuates on the basis of water retention, exercise, hormones, toxins and many other factors.

For example, if you begin an exercise program, did you know you will usually gain between 2 and 4 pounds within the first week? That's not muscle.  You can't build muscle that quickly. But your body will immediately hold on to extra water, because it needs the water to flush out lactic acid and deal with the metabolic processes that occur when we exercise. 

You may also gain weight before a menstrual cycle due to hormones retaining minerals and water. 

Here are a few considerations for you to examine:

1. EVERYONE will show lower numbers on a scale during a juice fast. When you are giving your body a break and you have removed solid food from the equation, your body releases water IMMEDIATELY. This is because digestion of food requires extra water for the process (just like exercise). Once your body realizes it is not being asked to digest food, it dumps what is extra, and that is always water. So the first pounds you lose are water weight. So even if you are very thin when you start a fast, your body will do an efficient job of letting go of water that it does not need at this time.

2. You will lose weight, and some of it will come back immediately after you begin solids. The weight that comes back right after a fast is not fat. You can't lose fat in one day, and you certainly can't gain it back in one day either. These quick fluctuations are fluid loss and gain. 

3. You will lose weight in the form of toxins. If you have been eating wheat, dairy, alcohol, lots of grains, refined sugar, meat or processed foods prior to the fast, you will lose a significant amount of toxins and that will show up as weight on the scale. Whether you are ideal weight or overweight. 

Remember, our bodies are so wise, and they don't care how much you weigh. They do the job they need to do by ridding the body of toxins. Eating heavy foods that are low in water content (like meat, bread products, grains, cooked foods) requires more water to be stored in the body. When you get rid of those foods on a fast, the body often dumps a lot of water quickly. That is where you can get someone losing 10 pounds in 4 days.

People who eat super clean high raw or all raw diets for a while will lose only some toxins and very little weight on the scale. 

The main point is that you don't want toxins stored in fat cells to remain in your body -- whether you are "overweight" or not. 

4. If you do have a fair amount of weight to lose, you are likely to lose more actual FAT than other people during a fast. And what is great about that, is that if you lose 12 pounds on a fast, and gain 4 back, the 4 will be due to a re-stabilization of fluid balance.

If you continue to eat a CLEAN plant based diet that is HIGH RAW and at least 50-70% of your food is in it's uncooked state, you will continue losing weight until you reach your body's setpoint. Remember too, that while you can force your body to go below its natural setpoint, you will always be fighting an uphill battle. 

If however, after fasting, little by little you begin to allow lots of devitalized, cooked foods, dairy, wheat and meat back into your diet, and you are decreasing the amount of fresh, raw, vibrant foods -- your body will become sluggish and your weight loss will stop.

But by maintaining a diet of mostly fresh, high water content foods, consumed in rather large volume (thus not starving yourself with calories below 1800) -- your body and metabolism will begin to function at an optimal level as it will not be in starvation mode.

Ultimately my advice is to TRUST THE PROCESS that your body is undergoing during a fast. Your body is healing, which is wonderful. Think of all of that hard work of digestion that you have been asking your body to do for DECADES!

There is a reason fasting has been practiced for thousands of years. And there is a reason that there is a massive amount of research confirming that a fasting lifestlye (one in which you make fasting a regular part of your life) has thus far been THE ONLY SINGULAR PROVEN KEY TO LONGEVITY! 

Happy Fasting. 

RAW FOOD DIET, DR. WEIL, AND YOUR BRAIN

I've recently had a number of messages from clients and Facebook fans asking questions about an article they saw on Dr. Weil's website about a raw food diet. 

The article is entitled "Raw Food Diets and Your Brain". And it starts by telling us to "think again" if we are considering a raw food diet. It talks about one study done in Brazil that looked at how our brains evolved beyond gorillas and chimps. The Dr. Weil article made erroneous assumptions in concluding that our brains evolved because our ancestors learned how to cook food.

Please remember to be a critical thinker and also always check your sources. For one thing, the article on Dr. Weil's website makes the statement that  "If humans ate only raw foods, the researchers calculated, we would have to eat for more than nine hours straight in order to get enough calories to sustain the energy requirements of our bigger brains."

But, the study does NOT say that.  In fact, it doesn't refer to a raw food human-suitable diet at all. Instead, it says 

"on a raw diet similar to that of extant nonhuman primates, Homo species would be required to feed consistently more than 9 h/d to afford their estimated MBD and number of neurons." 

The key point in that sentence being a diet "similar" to nonhuman primates. Not the more generic Dr. Weil term, "raw food diet", which would mislead many readers into thinking that it applies to what those of us in the raw food community actually eat.

The reason that is extremely important is because if you look at the diet for nonhuman primates, it is mostly greens. Mountain gorillas "mostly eat foliage such as leaves, stems, pith, and shoots of terrestrial herbaceous vegetation. As a rule, high protein foods which are low in fiber and tannins are preferred. They will also occasionally eat fruit, but this only makes up a very small part of their diet."  Lowland gorillas eat slightly more fruit, about 25%.

So, clearly, any human who has the idea of surviving on greens and herbs with a tiny amount of fruit would no doubt be required to eat pretty much nonstop because of the dramatically low caloric value of greens. That's not news. What was shocking was that the Dr. Weil article made such a giant leap by stating that a primate diet of almost all low calorie greens, would be anywhere near the same as a human raw food diet that includes a lot of fruit, higher calorie starch vegetables like yams and potatoes, as well as nuts and seeds which are EXTREMELY calorically dense.

Most important, is that the whole point of the study from Brazil was NOT about nutrition. It was NOT about what is a healthy diet for humans. In fact, it had nothing to do with that. 

It was a study done on the neurons in the brain, and a process called encephalization... developing large brains. The researchers set out to study and understand why humans have smaller bodies and larger brains, while other primates have much larger bodies and smaller brains. 

Their conclusion? It is NOT because of eating meat, it is NOT because of cooking, but it IS because of the ability to consume MORE CALORIES, since our brain tissue is energetically expensive tissue.

What the study truly says about cooking is that with the advent of cooking, our ancestors were able to get more calories in less time. "metabolic limitation was overcome in the human lineage by the advent of cooking food, which greatly increases the caloric yield of the diet, as a result of the greater ease of chewing, digestion, and absorption of foods." 

Clearly, with a huge percentage of our modern day humans being obese, I don't think we have to worry about the need to "increase our caloric yield". In fact, it's quite the contrary. A million years from now scientists will be studying that time (2013) when their ancestors (us) followed peculiar calorie-restricting starvation diets to reduce the size of their bodies with the use of fake foods, fake sweeteners, and an oddly bizarre behavior known as "portion control".  

Moreover, the study says that cooking allowed our ancestors to eat very high calorie foods such as meat, because "raw meat is difficult to chew and ingest".  Well, that's not news either. Of course raw meat is extremely difficult to chew and digest for humans  -- we don't have carnivorous teeth or short digestive tracts required to digest meat of any kind, let alone raw!

Ultimately, it' all conjecture anyway. You'd have to rely on an awful lot of assumptions and missing links in logic to even agree with the whole premise that someone making a hypothesis today in 2013 can even remotely have a clue of what was going almost a million years ago, when the oldest generally-accepted evidence for controlled use of fire by humans first occurred. (It was at the site of Gesher Benot Yaacov in Israel).

Additionally, even among people who do promote and eat 100% raw today, they typically consume far more calories than their cooked counterparts. Most of them easily consume 2800-3000 calories or more in a day, and are certainly not eating for 9 hours straight. Many of them are endurance athletes who eat a primarily fruit based diet. While I personally do not believe that is the optimal long-term diet, they clearly are not sitting down to meals for 9 hours. Sitting down to 10 persimmons or 12 bananas is a typical meal. That doesn't take 9 hours, and is a lot of calories.

When you eat a raw or high raw diet, the volume of food is in fact quite large compared to cooked, dead, devitalized high calorie animal foods, or even low quality plant foods. This can be very challenging initially for a person who is used to eating a 100 calorie snack pack of fake food, or a piece of animal meat loaded with fat. It is even challenging for many plant based eaters who eat a lot of devitalized food, such as small packs of processed seitan and carefully measured portions of wheat pasta, while diligently counting their calories to make sure they don't go over their starvation level 1200 calorie diet.

Ultimately, I encourage you to READ the actual study from Brazil that the Dr. Weil article was based on.  Sadly, the article took one study, drew a few non-evidence based conclusions, and wrote a factually inaccurate article. It's unfortunate, but common.

Many of us who are interested in eating raw foods are interested in the cancer-fighting, heart disease fighting, and diabetes fighting health benefits of raw plant foods, building our muscles and cells from purely clean energy, supporting our body's natural buffering systems with foods that have an alkaline effect on the body after metabolism, and avoiding the acidity causing, inflammation promoting, putrefying effects of a dead, devitalized, animal based, gluten-containing, over-proteinized, processed, common diet. All while making food choices that are kind to the earth, animals and humans alike.

 

http://www.pnas.org/content/109/45/18571.full?sid=905e5a4d-7ecb-4b1f-964d-34660ec068b6