We have spent years of countless tax dollars trying to find a cure for cancer.  However, what most people just don't realize is Nature has been solving this dilemma from the beginning of time.  The CURE is inside all of us--it's called our IMMUNE SYSTEM.  

Our immune system is our internal body armour.  It is our first line of defense--like a defensive line in football.  Our immune's system's mission is to stop the other team (cancer) from getting through.  If our immune system (defense line) is weak or injured, then the other team gets through.  How do we build up defensive team?  The ONLY way is through our DIET.  

Mike Anderson, the author of the RAVE Diet, (this is a Whole Food Plant Based diet, just given another name), tells us that there are "4 Laws of Cancer" that are irrefutable:

1. Your immune system is the only cure for cancer
2. A weakened immune system is the biggest cause of cancer
3. The higher the dietary fat the more the immune system is weakened
4. The only foods that contain immune-strengthening and cancer-fighting nutrients are PLANT FOODS

So what I think the author is saying is, our eating habits can either strengthen or weaken our immune system.  Not eating enough plant foods will make us deficient in antioxidants and phytohemicals that feed an army of immune system cells that defend the body against cancer.  

Our immune system has been trained to recognize and selectively KILL cancer cells and is at least a MILLION TIMES smarter at killing them than chemotherapy or radiation.  Those treatments not only kill cancer cells, they kill the only cure for cancer--your immune system cells.  

In every population throughout the world eating an animal-based diet, cancer is the 2nd leading KILLER after heart disease.  Due to high-fat content, animal based diets suppress the immune system by killing off immune system cells. Think about an oil spill in the ocean--it kills marine life or maimes them.  Birds covered with oil cannot fly.  Fat hits our bloodstream and immune cells die off.  The "survivors" cannot "swim" in your bloodstream, so they become blinded and therefore cannot recognize and kill cancer cells.  So, imagine eating like this three times a day--you have created an oil spill with breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

The higher your intake of fat, the more your immune system is weakened.  What we have in America today is an epidemic of immune system failure which accounts for many of the disease we suffer from--especially cancer.  The high fat content of animal based foods significantly suppress the immune system--this is the reason why heart disease and cancer are the top 2 KILLERS.  However, lowering your fat content in your diet not only is the best thing for your heart, but it's the single best way to strengthen your immune system.  

Instead of a steady stream of fat, a WFPB diet will lower fat intake and give you a steady stream of cancer fighting nutrients that will feed your immune system and keep it running STRONG!

FIESTA SALAD


4 cups of black beans
2 cups of frozen corn, thawed
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 large bell peppers, (any color) diced
3/4 cup chopped cilantro (or parsely if you prefer)
1/2 cup chopped red onion

Combine beans with the corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion and cilantro.  Toss with any no-oil dressing of your choice.

Did you know that before 1900, heart disease was unknown and so rare it wasn't even included in standard American medical textbooks?  Today heart disease is the NUMBER 1 KILLER--it kills more than half the population.  Yet, heart disease is the SINGLE MOST PREVENTABLE major disease there is.  Heart disease has become so prevalent that the drug makers want to make cholesterol-lowering drugs non-prescription so everyone can take them like an aspirin!

This would be great news for the drug makers....a pill to "treat" heart disease....but what about CURING it altogether so you don't REQUIRE these medications loaded with all kinds of side effects.  But, not to worry, there will be a pill you can take for those side effects.....

Heart disease can be CURED and REVERSED by DIET.  And, the same diet that prevents and reverses heart disease, will also prevent and reverse a host of other chronic diseases we have in this country--type 2 diabetes, cancers, and several other illnesses that plague Americans.  But, there are literally millions of Americans dying to have their heart disease reversed on meat-based diets.  Since there are so many people on "high protein" diets, you would think that out of those millions, just one person would have reversed his or her heart disease....but guess what....it's NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!  If the 'high protein" people were able to recruit one person with heart disease and reverse it with their diet, the publicity they would receive would be unbelievable and everyone would be eating steak and eggs for breakfast...believe me the meat industry would have a field day!   But, this has not been accomplished, nor will it ever happen.

However, by changing your diet to a Whole Food Plant Based diet, this can absolutely be achieved....heart disease, cancers, diabetes, strokes, etc., can be prevented and reversed.  There are hundreds of scientific studies proving just this. The arguments of the  high-protein diets are extremely deceptive--there are big differences in honesty.  Let's take two famous people, Dr. Nathan Pritikin and Dr. Robert Atkins...Dr. Pritikin followed a WFPB diet, Dr. Atkins, of course, followed his famous high-protein diet.  

Dr. Pritikin initially was eating the Standard American Diet, (SAD) and developed heart disease.  After researching, he completely changed his diet to a WFPB diet.  He stipulated in his will that when he died he wanted an autopsy to be preformed with the results published, regardless of the outcome.  His body was autopsied, as he wished, and it was found that he ahd the heart and arteries of a young man which were completely clear of any signs of heart disease or plaque. His results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Now, let's talk about Dr. Atikins.  When he died, everything possible was done to conceal his health before and after his death, despite the claims by the Atkins people his diet was "heart healthy", despite decades of solid medical research showing this type of diet to be EXTREMELY UN-HEALTHY.  In fact, recent studies have shown that the Atkins diet REDUCES BLOOD FLOW to the heart by 40% after one year!

High amounts of any kind of fat--be it animal fat, vegetable fat (oils), or manufactured fat (food made in the lab), decrease the amount of oxygen delivered in your body.  After a high-fat meal, doctors can actually see blood sludging in the whites of patients' eyes, due to the high concentration of fat.  A blood sample taken form a person a few hours after eating a cheeseburger and shake showed that HALF of the blood sample consisted of fat!!  American's blood is so thick with fat that doctors are now telling millions of people to take an aspirin everyday in an effort to thin their blood!  This is NOT the ANSWER.

The FACT is heart disease can ONLY be reversed on a TRUE low-fat diet (10% or less of total calories).  Remember, when you eat to prevent or reverse heart disease, you'll be preventing all the other degenerative diseases that are making us sick and causing premature deaths.  

So, we need to stop listening to all the misinformation we are "fed" every single day by the meat industry, the dairy industry and the fast-food industry....we need to listen to the scientific evidence that is available from extremely respectable physicians such as Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and Dr. T. Colin Campbell.  Each one of these doctors have put themselves, their families and thousands of patients on a WFPB diet resulting in optimal health.  Their studies have been published in the highest peer-reviewed journals available.

Who will you listen to.....the people who will make a huge profit if you "buy" what they have to sell, or, these highly respected physicians with years of clinical studies backing what they promote, without you having to spend a dime?

Anyone that has been transitioning over to a Whole Food Plant Based diet, congratulations!  It is, by far, the best way to achieve real HEALTH.  But, while transitioning over, many people ask me how to deal with cravings.

The fact is, cravings are simple biology.  Just as alcohol, caffeine and nicotine affect your brain, certain foods can have that same affect.  It is the chemical makeup of certain foods that actually cause the cravings.  However, we only crave certain foods....for example, apples, peaches or strawberries we may like, but we don't "binge" on them.  The foods we tend to crave are:

• sugar and starchy foods that turn into sugar
• chocolate
• cheese
• meat

Believe it or not, each one of these foods triggers an opiate effect in the brain that peaches and apples just can't match.  

First, sugar....it calls our name and it can be insistent.  The fact is, sugar has a mild drug-like effect.  The sensation of sugar on your tongue triggers the release of opiates in your brain.  Then, the opiates trigger the release of dopamine, a brain chemical that is responsible for the feeling of pleasure.  So, whatever you were doing just as dopamine was released becomes a new favorite activity.  Right around the same time tomorrow, an alarm clock goes off inside your brain and will remind you about sugar.  And, having sugar again resets the alarm to go off again the next day.  This is exactly what recreational drugs do.....tobacco, marijuana, heroin, alcohol, and every other drug of abuse triggers the release of dopamine within the brain...food or drinks that trigger dopamine become very popular.  

If it's bread and bagels you're craving, this is probably because your digestive tract breaks the starch into sugar.  However, you don't crave just any kind of starch...your taste buds are calling for cookies, bread, crackers, cereals, etc....they are not calling for beans and fruits.  The reason is, fruits and beans release their sugars very slowly which is great for energy and endurance, but they don't give you a "sugar high".  White bread, on the other hand, digests quickly which releases sugar into your bloodstream within minutes.  

Chocolate has opiate effects as well, but it also contains stimulants along with traces of caffeine.  Now, some people will say a piece of dark chocolate has health benefits--but, if a little piece becomes a lot, your thighs are expanding before your very eyes.  Chocolate can have the same effect as sugar.  

Cheese--who doesn't love cheese?  This is the one food that many people have an extremely hard time with.  Really, when you think about it, it smells like dirty socks, it can be marked with blue speckles, it's loaded with cholesterol, is as greasy as Vaseline and yet, we just can't get enough of it!  The reason for this is called "casomorphins".  Casomorphines are opiates that trigger the opiate receptors in your brain...they can behave like morphine.  

If some people eat too much cheese, they become constipated---same effect as a narcotic drug---if a person takes too many, they become constipated.  Just like pain killers cause constipation, cheese can slow down your digestive tract the same way.  The reason we crave cheese more than milk or yogurt is because as milk is turned into cheese, the water and whey protein are removed, leaving casein and fat--the most concentrated form of casein in any food.  Casein fragments attach to the opiate receptors in our brain and keep us coming back for more.  (Please don't forget, casein feeds cancer cells)

Meat--especially for men--is the food that many people crave.  Meat also has an opiate effect on us.  However, meat eaters pay a very high price with far more weight problems, cholesterol issues, as well as a much higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and many other problems.  

So what do we do about all these cravings?  Some people find that it's just easier to steer clear of a food you know you crave. If you can manage to avoid whatever you crave for several days, cravings will diminish.  Here are some ideas that work:

• Have a healthy breakfast.  Hunger fuels cravings.  If you avoid excessive hunger, cravings tend to stay at bay.
• Eat foods that keep your blood sugar steady...foods that are full of fiber like whole-grains and fruits and vegetables. 
• Don't restrict calories.  Low-calorie diets cause people to binge.
• Break craving cycles.  If cravings kick in at about the same time each day, do something else at that time.  For instance, take a walk.
• Get plenty of exercise and rest.  Vigorous exercise not only gives you an opiate effect of its own, but also helps you to sleep.

By getting away from these types of foods, your taste buds will "wake up"...you will be eating more of the foods that are good for you without gaining weight.  That's the beauty of all this--when you follow a Whole Food Plant Based diet, you can eat until you're satisfied--no counting anything--your health will soar as the numbers on the scale drop like a rock.

Cravings will not go away overnight....but, just take it one day at a time...wake up in the morning and just tell yourself you won't be having any (fill in the blank with your trigger food) today.  Take it one day at a time and before you know it, the cravings will disappear.  If you give yourself "just a little bit", the craving will never go away--it really is easier to just eliminate that food.  Remember, those foods that we crave are NOT GOOD FOR US ANYWAY--they cause all kinds of health problems!

I promise, the longer you can stay away from these trigger foods the easier it will become....just take it one day at a time...

It doesn't matter what your current state of health is....whether you are a pretty healthy person without any health issues and would like to keep it that way, or if you're a person that has high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, etc., you can't fix your HEALTH until you fix your diet.  It really is a simple as that!

Many people are diagnosed with a health issue by their physician and really are shocked because in their mind they are eating a healthy diet....until we start to go over exactly what they are eating.  Don't get me wrong, some people are eating much healthier than others, BUT, if one's goal is to be eating TRULY HEALTHY in order to prevent disease from starting, or stop whatever disease they may have, there has to be a DRASTIC dietary change.  

I say 'drastic' because to most people it will seem that way. Personally, I became a "vegetarian" five years ago...then it took me another three months to stay away from all dairy products which would put me in the "vegan" category.  However, I really don't like using the terms vegetarian or vegan because they only tell me what the person is not eating, (meat and poultry for the vegetarian, meat and dairy for the vegan), these terms do not tell us all the foods we are eating.  As I have mentioned before, a person could drink Coke and eat french fries and still fall under the category of following a 'vegan diet'.  Therefore, a Whole Food Plant Based diet is a much more precise way of stating what 'type' of diet I am following....I eat whole foods---foods that come straight from nature....plant based--foods that come from plants....so what this means is I eat a HUGE variety of vegetables, fruits, and beans....I eat as much as I want without counting calories, carbs, fats, etc.  

Now, this is a completely different way of eating for many, many people.  Trying to eliminate ALL animal products from your diet seems like an impossible task....but it truly is NOT.  Your taste buds will absolutely CHANGE and after awhile, you will no longer WANT to eat animal products.  I know this sounds CRAZY to many people, but I am telling you after abstaining from animal products, not only will you actually FEEL BETTER, but you will LOSE any cravings you may have for animal products.  I'm not saying this will happen overnight because it won't, BUT it will happen!

If you have a health issue you would like to eradicate, or if you are trying to prevent disease from even starting, IT CAN BE DONE!!  However, it does mean eliminating ALL animal products from your diet as well as all artificial processed foods ...foods that come with ingredient labels with ingredients we cannot pronounce let alone know what they are.  Foods that come straight from nature, no ingredient labels attached, are the BEST foods for preventing disease and stopping disease in it's tracks!

People that want to make REAL CHANGES in their health will either dive right into this lifestyle change, others need to take baby steps to reach their goal.  It doesn't matter what route a person chooses, what matters is they are MAKING changes.  It really is not "hard" to do....but it will take some planning and preparation as I have stated in prior blogs.  There are so many websites available with GREAT recipes to try....this way of eating is not HARD, it is just DIFFERENT...but it can be just as delicious and satisfying as your current diet....but the difference is, by eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet, you will be PROMOTING HEALTH not disease.

Start making changes today....try some type of beans....chickpeas, lentils, red beans, white beans, or black beans.  If you never had them before, try buying a few cans of them, (I personally buy the dry beans in bags and make my own, but this will come in time), drain and rinse them well to get the sodium off of them.  You could make a bean salad with a few different types of beans, mixed with some chopped vegetables like cucumbers, onions, peppers, tomatoes, corn, etc....whatever you have on hand...and maybe pour some kind of balsamic vinegar over it, or whatever dressing you may like, (just read that ingredient list......the fewer ingredients the better!), and you will have a really healthy dish.

This lifestyle is the optimal path for health...no other way of eating will give you all the benefits you will get from eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet.  You can literally turn your health around by eating this way....not to mention, your energy will soar AND the "side effect" from eating this way is WEIGHT LOSS without even trying!!  

Eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet really is THE ONLY DIET that has been SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN to prevent disease and or stop disease in it's tracks.....now that doesn't sound too drastic to me........

Do you have any idea what's in that piece of meat (animal flesh) you are about to eat? Most Americans really don't know....besides the saturated fat and artery-clogging cholesterol, you are getting much more than what you bargained for.  You see, the majority of animals that are slaughtered for us to eat live in deplorable conditions...such as standing in their own waste products that is a quarter way up their legs.  And that's only the tip of the iceberg.  

Because the animals are living in close quarters with all this waste literally everywhere, these animals are at a very high risk of getting sick.  As a matter of fact, some animals are so sick that when brought to the slaughterhouse they can't even stand on their feet--they are too weak and sick.  These animals are called "downers"...but don't worry, their meat will not be wasted....they will just use it to mix in the feed for other animals (putting these animals at risk for getting sick), use it in dog food, or maybe just use it as a by-product in hot dogs.  (Please, if you never eat anything again, let it be hot dogs!)

But, NOT TO WORRY....the meat industry has everything under control.  To combat all this potential illness of these animals, they just give them massive amounts of ANTIBIOTICS.  They are injected into the animals as well as mixed in with the animal's food....this is standard protocol.  If this was not standard practice, the meat industry would lose so many animals due to infections and sickness, their bottom line would be greatly impacted.  

Because these animals are just inundated with antibiotics, (not to mention so many other chemicals such as hormones to make them bigger and produce more milk), the person eating the piece of meat also gets flooded with those same antibiotics.  That means most Americans are on an antibiotic diet year round if they are eating meat once a day.  Many people eat meat 2-3 times a day....

Each time you eat that piece of meat, you are killing off good and bad bacteria that resides in your gut....bacteria that is SUPPOSE to be there.  So what?  Well, let me tell you....when you get a bacterial infection that requires an antibiotic to treat it, the antibiotic doesn't work because your body has now become RESISTANT to it.  You take one course of antibiotics, then another, and still you are sick.  This is how "superbugs" are born.  We have these drug-resistant bugs that antibiotics are no longer able to fight.

Statistics show that a new breed of these "superbugs" traveling around in hospitals have a 50% KILL RATE.  There simply is not an antibiotic available today to kill them.  The Food and Drug Administration reports that the antibiotic resistant rate is becoming a crisis.

In 2011, the manufacturers of antibiotics made 30 BILLION pounds of antibiotics for livestock ALONE....that means for 2011, 80% of total sales for antibiotics went to LIVESTOCK...the remaining 20% was for human consumption.  The Center for Disease Control issued a report recently titled, Antibiotic Resistance Threat in the United States, 2013, which is a 114 page report outlining one of the most serious health threats to Americans in the future.  

Every year in the US, at least 2 million people acquire serious infections by bacteria that are resistant to one or more of the antibiotics designed to treat those infections.  At least 23,000 people DIE each year as a direct result of these antibiotic resistant infections.  Many more die from other conditions that were complicated by an antibiotic-resistant infection.  

It's too bad we can't SEE these organisms crawling around on our meat that's on our plate....and don't think because you are cooking the meat that you are cooking off the "bugs" or the antibiotics that meat contains....you are not.  Those bugs are able to withstand extreme temperatures and the antibiotics....they are found in the muscle of the meat....those antibiotics are not going anywhere except inside you when you eat that meat.  

How attractive does that piece of meat look to you now?

My last few blogs have been about ditching dairy.  I know how hard this is for many people....myself included.  When I was learning about a whole food plant based diet, I was shocked, to say the least, about how unhealthy dairy products are for us.  As I have said before, most of us grew up being taught how important dairy is for us, how we must drink milk and eat yogurt for strong bones and teeth.  Of course, all this is untrue and eating dairy products is just downright unhealthy.

Now, I know this comes as a blow to many people...again, myself included. My favorite foods to eat were yogurt, cheese and ice cream.  I wasn't able to eat much of these foods, because they are so calorie dense and I always had to watch every bite of food I put in my mouth...if not, the numbers on the scale were on the rise.  
Then I learned what these products were doing to my health.  Yesterday's blog talked about casein, the protein in dairy products, and how casein feeds cancer cells.  To be quite honest, this was all I had to learn....of course I read The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, which goes into depth in regards to casein.  The evidence was blatantly clear....no one should be consuming dairy.  

Let's take cheese for example....who doesn't love cheese?? As a matter of fact, cheese was considered by many to be food of the gods....it's anything but.  It is made by acidifying milk, adding bacteria and enzymes to convert the casein from soluble to insoluble so the milk will gel.  The lactose converts to simple sugar.  Enzymes coagulate the casein, whey is pressed and the fat, protein and lactose are broken into simple molecules by bacteria, resulting in cheese--a very concentrated and solid form of FAT. 

The production of cheese relies heavily on various molds and bacteria, which wreaks havoc on your digestive tract, resulting in bloating and the accumulation of mucus in your intestines.  Cheese causes the body to become acidic, resulting in "damp" intestines, fluid retention, kidney stones and wrinkles...just to name a few.  Remember, for cancer cells to thrive, they require a nice acidic environment...cheese gives us just that.  Not to mention, cheese is so calorically dense that it can double the calories in a recipe...double!!  In my mind, cheese is nothing more than a block of artery-clogging saturated fat which will send your cholesterol levels skyrocketing.

Then there's ice cream....another one of my favorite foods to eat.  However, the effects of the dense protein and fats of dairy foods are concentrated in ice cream.  Combining the fat with sugar and freezing temperatures make ice cream as indigestible as a dairy food can get.  Anything that is freezing cold will cause organ function to slow, growing sluggish, accumulating fat, especially in the intestines.  As congestion builds in the digestive tract, it is more difficult to oxygenate the brain, so we begin to feel dull.  Think about it, this frozen sweet food is great for numbing body function and paralyzing us emotionally.  Not to mention.....casein is the protein in ice cream...it's feeding cancer cells....

There is a HEALTHY alternative to ice cream, and it is delicious!  No worries about casein, fat, and sugar--not to mention everything else dairy products come packaged with like hormones and and antibiotics.  Here is a recipe that is sure to please everyone:

BANANA-CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

2 frozen bananas
1/4 cup or less Almond milk
1 T of cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 t vanilla
dash of cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  

NOTE:  Make sure your bananas are frozen solid...I like to freeze them at least 24 hours before using...you won't believe this isn't soft serve ice cream!!

In my previous blog, I was talking about how misguided (to say the least) we are in regards to dairy.  As previously stated, we are the only species to drink another species milk.  Cow's milk is designed for calves, not humans.  

Putting lactose intolerance aside, another major issue with dairy is casein. Casein is the protein in milk, which is a very sticky protein which goes undigested in the body and accumulates in the soft tissue, causing sluggish circulation and slows down digestion.  As a matter of fact, because casein is sticky, it has the ability to bind--it works so well that it's an ingredient in some plastic and glue products---yummy!  What this means is that this protein is moving around inside a body that cannot digest it, and will pull together and eventually form fatty cysts and tumors.  

Dr. T. Colin Campbell has proven, without a shadow of a doubt, how casein can literally turn cancer cells on and off by increasing casein consumption in the diet (turning cancer cells on), or eliminating casein from the diet (turning cancer cells off).  This study alone, (found in the China Study, by T. Colin Campbell), should have physicians "treating" patients in a whole different mind-set.  I can't for the life of me understand WHY, with scientific evidence proving the effects casein has on cancer cells, oncologists are not insisting on patients eliminating all dairy from their diets.  In my mind, NO ONE should be consuming dairy.

The fat in dairy products also wreaks havoc with our body.  Saturated fats (the fat from dairy foods) will accumulate in the body, causing a hardened, bulky layer over our muscles, slowing metabolism down so we get nice and fat, (think cow), and will inhibit oxygen getting to body tissue.  

Fat-free dairy foods are not the answer either.  Skim milk, fat-free and low-fat milk are all by-products of whole milk.  All that's removed is the fat.  It really doesn't improve the milk or its effect on us--it still has both casein and lactose.  It actually concentrates the protein, (casein)---that's the last thing our body needs is more concentrated casein accumulating.

What about calcium?? Yes, milk is loaded with calcium--we know this because the dairy industry tells us so.  However, what they don't tell us is calcium bonds to casein--since our body has so much trouble digesting casein, the amount of calcium from dairy our body absorbs is only about 12%, leaving the rest of it undigested in our body.

Did you know that most of the people in the world don't rely on dairy foods for their calcium?  Americans take in twice the amount of dairy as most of the world...the dairy industry makes sure of this!  Protein-rich diets actually depletes the body of essential nutrients like calcium, magnesium and potassium.  The incidence of osteoporosis (thinning of bones to the point of making them brittle), is significantly higher among people who consume the greatest amounts of protein and calcium--our country has an extremely high rate of osteoporosis.  In contrast, the incidence of osteoporosis in  African people that live on a low-protein, low-calcium diet is almost non-existent!!

There's more--our body loves balance and will do whatever it takes to "create" balance...with or without our help.  The poor digestion of casein and lactose, and the high-concentrated protein from fat-free dairy foods cause the blood to become highly acidic.  Our body has to correct all this acidity---what does it do?--it takes calcium from our bones to neutralize all this acid--constantly leaching calcium from our bones day after day leaving us with weak, thinning bones.  

So, where will our calcium come from?  The BEST sources for usable calcium:  dark leafy greens, black beans, soy, (personally I don't use much soy), whole grains and sea plants.  By reducing the amount of animal protein in your diet, your need for calcium is also reduced as you will not be losing so much of it.  You can get all the calcium you need from the food that you eat, if you are choosing wisely.  

ITALIAN CANNELLINI SPINACH SOUP


This recipe is from The Plant-Powered Diet, by Sharon Palmer, RD.  This soup makes about 1 quart...double the recipe for left-overs later in the week!


1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t dried thyme
1  15 oz can cannellini beans
1 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups of water
2 cups of packed fresh spinach leaves
1 t lemon juice

1. Saute the onion, garlic, celery, pepper, and thyme in a small amount of water, about 5 minutes. 
   
2. Stir in the beans, broth, and water and cover the pot.  Bring to a slow simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.
3. Transfer about three quarters of the bean-vegetable mixture into a blender--puree until smooth, adding liquid from the pot as needed. 
4. Pour the pureed mixture back into the pot.  Add the spinach and lemon juice, cover and  heat until the soups is hot and the spinach is wilted, about 10 minutes.

Note:  If using homemade beans, use about 1 3/4 cups of beans.  I also would cut back on the water and use more vegetable broth for a more flavorful broth.  

The dairy industry is brilliant when it comes to marketing....they WANT us to believe that dairy is Nature's Perfect Food....in my opinion, dairy should be ILLEGAL!  Dairy products are, without question, the most lethal and unnatural food humans can consume.  

I know, from elementary school and beyond, we have been suckered by the dairy industry to believe that their products are just what our body needs.  Finally, nowadays many nutritionists have begun to question the wisdom and safety of this food because of all the scientific research done showing how harmful dairy is to human beings.  For example, dairy can result in an extremely deficient immune system, cause brittle bones (just the opposite of what the dairy industry tells us), can cause rampant reproductive disorders, causes all kinds of allergies, skin disorders, and GI disorders.  As a matter of fact, Frank Oski, MD, author of Don't Drink Your Milk, states that milk so alters the human body that he would like to see it placed on an official hazardous food list!  Most recent studies conducted by Neal Barnard, MD and T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D, have shown results that should have us pouring this white poison down the drain.  Their work links dairy products to Type 2 diabetes, (now an epidemic), digestive problems, cancers and arthritis.  

Now, I am a FIRM believer in our first food....mother's milk.  It gives SUPERIOR NOURISHMENT to an infant.  Milk has the same job, species to species, to create and nourish the young of THAT species.  Mother's milk, no matter what species, human or animal, is DESIGNED for it's own species.  To use the milk of one species to nourish another creates a tangled, confused crisis, to say the least.  

Cow's milk, the most common choice for dairy food in our world has the job to BUILD COWS.  The rich, creamy textures of dairy foods are the basis of their appeal.....they also create dependency...it's like you were never weaned.  Think about it....you have a crisis, you console yourself with ice cream....can't sleep, have warm milk--it will knock you out.  Dairy foods come from big, slow, dull animals. 

Current marketing strategies call milk "the perfect food" based on the fact that it contains all the vital nutrients essential to life.  That's true....any mother will create the perfect food FOR HER BABY.  Where this thinking gets CRAZY is  that the milk from cows, goats, rabbits cats or dogs is the perfect food for any species other than their own.  

However, the key to understanding why dairy products are more harmful than good lies in understanding the role of lactase in the digestive process.  Most of us hear about lactose and lactose intolerance, but lactase is critical.  Lactase is an enzyme contained in the small intestine, with the job of breaking down the lactose in mother's milk.  Lactase appears in an embryo's intestines during the last trimester, in preparation of digestion of mother's milk.  Lactase naturally remains in the small intestine UNTIL THE BABY IS ABOUT A YEAR OLD.  It then begins to wane, although it can remain active up to about 4 years old.  With the dwindling production of lactase, our ability to digest lactose also dwindles.  Here's where the trouble starts....when there is more lactose present in the intestines than lactase (needed to break down lactose), the lactose accumulates undigested in the large intestine where it ferments, causing various chemical reactions with the bacteria that is in there.  Eventually, you have created a lactose-intolerant condition.  

But, don't worry......there is a supplement you can take for lactose intolerance and just continue to consume all the dairy products you want......the dairy industry would have it no other way.......

The next HUGE HEALTH problem with dairy products....casein, the protein in dairy products....stayed tuned.....

Nutrition is one of the most confusing subjects we can debate.  Everyone seems to have an opinion in regards to what the "best diet" is.  As I have said repeatedly, I hate the word "diet"....when someone is talking about a "diet", it doesn't really mean a way of life, it usually means they are starting to eat a certain way beginning on this date and ending on this date.  This way of eating.....following some sort of "diet" for a certain period of time, then return to eating "normally", DOES NOT WORK.  

Unfortunately, a "normal" way of eating usually means the Standard American Diet, SAD.  Of course, this means lots of meat, dairy, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, and most of the time, processed, artificial "foods".  All we have to do is look around us and observe how eating this way has resulted in epidemic proportions of an overweight, sick society.  The problem is, the industries with all the power and money, (food industry, meat and dairy industries), are the ones with the "advertising" power...the brilliant marketing departments that lead us to believe their products are "good" for us.  But the proof in in the pudding.....just take a look around.  

Sadly, we are on the wrong track.....all the billions of dollars that goes into research trying to find the next new drug to "treat" all our diseases--especially heart disease and cancer, the top 2 Killers in America--CURES NOTHING.  Science has proven time and time again these drugs are treating the symptoms.  To most people's surprise, they are not eradicating disease, and so many scientific journals are stating these drugs are not PROLONGING life!!  However, the drug companies responsible for making such drugs lead us to believe something totally different.  

Science has also PROVEN repeatedly that NUTRITION should be the "FIRST TREATMENT" in healing any disease.  However, for whatever the reason is, (in my opinion it's money), this is just not accepted.  Most physicians just are not knowledgeable when it comes to nutrition because they were just not taught.  Anything that "challenges" what physicians were taught for years and years in medical school is usually dismissed as hearsay.  But, many years ago when the tobacco industry first came out with cigarettes, PHYSICIANS USED TO PROMOTE THEM stating they had a very calming effect and were safe for people to use.....as a matter of fact, some physicians PRESCRIBED them to their very anxious patients!!!  Well, we all know how this turned out...

The same goes for nutrition....because physicians just do not have the knowledge in regards to nutrition, they just don't believe that nutrition has that much to do with diseases....when in fact, NUTRITION has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH DISEASE!  Now, don't get me wrong, there are some physicians that are on-board with this way of thinking.  They themselves have "cleaned up" their eating habits, but find that:

1. It's very time consuming to "teach" patients about nutrition
2. There is no reimbursement for teaching nutrition to patients
3. Patient's do not want to "give up" their current way of eating (consuming lots of meat, dairy and processed foods)

However, I truly believe when nutrition and it's importance is EXPLAINED to a person, they are more inclined to take the necessary steps to improve their eating habits.  If a physician diagnosed me with coronary artery disease and gave me the choice of splitting my chest wide open to perform bypass surgery on my heart, or, eliminate all animal products and processed foods from my diet, and eat all the vegetables, fruits, beans and whole-grains I wanted, of course I would choose the latter....who wouldn't???

There has been a boatload of scientific studies performed and results published in highly respected journals proving the effects that nutrition has.  As a matter of fact, when feeding our body with the "right" foods, the capacity of healing that our body has is MORE POWERFUL than any drug on the market.  Our body was designed to protect us, it was designed to attack foreign invaders, (things that our body don't recognize like chemicals and artificial foods), and it was designed to HEAL us when something goes wrong.  

Nutrition trumps EVERYTHING when talking about health.  When we eat a "diet" full of vegetables, fruits, beans and whole-grains, we are giving our body everything it NEEDS to give us SUPERIOR HEALTH.  Disease does not have to exist...heart disease and cancers can be prevented as well as so many other diseases that plague us today.  

Remember, we can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.......

We have all been told that the higher one's cholesterol is, the higher the risk of heart disease...the lower one's cholesterol level, the lower the risk. We have also been told that the "magical number" to be below for a 'normal' cholesterol is 200.  There is nothing magical about 200.  People are still having heart attacks with cholesterol levels around  the 200 mark...this is not a "safe" number as studies have shown.  

We have also been led to believe that a person's blood pressure goes up with age.  If at age 60, your blood pressure runs somewhere around 140/88, this is normal.  This is NOT normal, it's the "average" blood pressure in people this age group, BUT it is NOT normal.  Studies show that when blood pressure starts climbing above the 120/80 mark, the risk for heart attack and stroke starts climbing.

In societies where we do not see high rates of heart disease and strokes, we do not see blood pressure increase with age.  Unfortunately, the majority of Americans have a blood pressure reading that is above the 120/80 mark, (new guidelines now say a "normal" blood pressure is 120/70). 

However, when a person goes to the doctor and is diagnosed with high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels, the doctor is ready with a prescription (permission slip to continue eating to eat the Standard American Diet, SAD), to bring down the blood pressure and or cholesterol levels.  But, what the doctor probably is not telling the patient is, these pills are ONLY treating the SYMPTOMS, they are not CURING anything.  BUT, both of these "conditions" can be CURED with NUTRITION!  But, not many physician have the TIME to explain this in detail.....and it would take some time...but, in my opinion, it's time WELL SPENT.

For instance, numerous scientific studies have shown that the following interventions can actually bring down high blood pressure and cholesterol levels:

• Weight loss
• Sodium restriction
• Increased potassium intake
• Increased fiber intake
• Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables
• Increased physical activity
• Avoiding meat and dairy products
• Alcohol and caffeine restriction

Studies have shown controlling salt intake and weight loss is extremely effective in bringing down a patient's blood pressure, no matter what their age is.  So, how does a person achieve this?  Very simply...eat more vegetables, fruits and beans, avoid processed foods and animal products, and get some kind of exercise on a daily basis, even if it's just a brisk 30 walk.  High blood pressure is really simple to control.  


Taking a medication to bring down these levels is nothing more than a permission slip as mentioned above.  That pill the patient was prescribed does NOTHING to treat the underlying cause.  Patient's that take this medication and falsely believe they are "protected" and continue to follow the same disease-causing lifestyle that led them to having this problem in the first place.  If blood pressure medication was never "invented", doctors would have been forced to teach healthy nutrition to patients in order to save lives.  


Unfortunately, the typical doctor is just not versed in healthy nutrition.  They are forced to rush through patient appointments in order to see as many patients as possible in the course of a day.  Most doctors are not following a truly healthy diet themselves because, once again, they really don't have the knowledge when it comes to nutrition.  Just take a look around at the "health" of our country.  We are a nation of overweight, sick people spending billions of dollars on a "health system", (really it's a disease system), that is truly broken.  People are continuing to suffer from heart disease, cancers, diabetes, etc., MORE NOW THAN EVER BEFORE.  What we are doing IS NOT WORKING.


It doesn't have to be this way....you can absolutely take control of your health right now!  A Whole Food Plant Based diet has been proven to PREVENT, STOP and many times REVERSE the diseases we have in this country.  By eating an abundance of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, and a small amount of nuts and seeds, these diseases would not exist.  It sounds too good to be true, but there are so many people out there that are living proof.  There are so many testimonials out there of people not only getting blood pressure and cholesterol levels to goal, but people that have reversed heart disease and cancers (that's HUGE), by following a WFPB diet.  


By eating a WFPB diet, the results are nothing short of miraculous.  And, of course, by following this way of eating, the  "side effects" one will experience, just to name a few are weight loss and increased energy levels.  Who wouldn't want those side effects?


If you are interested in learning more about transitioning to a WFPB diet, please let me know...I would love to help you take control of your health!