This delicious and healthy soup is both medicinal and cleansing. One of my personal favorites, it is sweet and naturally fragrant, requires no added salt or seasoning. The Hippocrates Soup is also used as soup stock for my other soups and as a base for other recipes. All ingredients are organic where possible. Always get organic potato and tomato for this soup as the pesticide levels for these produce tend to be much higher in non-organic ones.
The soup is always served every lunch and dinner as a starter soup for Gerson Therapy (GT) patients. Its a pre-requisite menu for GT patients. While much of GT is directed to liver cleansing, this special soup is designed to help cleanse the kidney and nourish the body. No salt or other condiments should be added for obvious reasons.
The main medicinal ingredients are leeks, celeriac (celery root), parsley root. Potatos are added for carbohydrates and tomatos, garlic onions are added for taste. Here in Singapore, parsley root is rare and hardly available in the shops so I omit it. You can find celeriac (seasonal) in gourmet supermarkets like Tanglin Supermarket, Jasons, Culina. If celeriac is unavailable, replace with celery stalks.
Recipe : Hippocrates Special Soup
Makes four portion for two days
Ingredients (use organic produce where possible)
400g medium celeriac
250g medium onions
250g celery stalk about 3-4 medium stalk
500g roma tomatos
500g potato
400g leeks
300g parsley root (if available)
3-4 cloves of garlic (as desired)
1 stalk parsley herb (condiment)
filtered water
Method
1. Wash all the vegetables thoroughly, unpeeled, cut in small cubes.
2. Add just enough filtered water to cover the cut vegetables in non-aluminum based pot.
3. Cook all the ingredients under low heat 60-80 degrees Celsius for 1.5-2hours in firmly covered pot.
4. Remove tender and soft vegetables from heat, run through food mill/blender. Remove fibers or peels.
5. Blend still warm ingredients thoroughly till soup is thicky and creamy. Only blend the soup while its warm, otherwise the soup will form a sticky and starchy texture when cooled.
6. Allow soup to cool before storing in refrigerator
7. Make enough for about two days only.
Notes :
- You can vary the taste by adding semi-dried tomatos or roasted garlic to the soup.
- Portions of Leeks, celeriac, celery stalks, parsley root should remain as prescribed.
- The unblended version can be used as Vegetable Stock for other recipes.
- The soup should be cooked at low and slow heat to preserve its valuable nutrients and keep it easily digestible. In fast and high heat cooking, the cells burst and the minerals go out of their colloidal composition, it becomes more difficult to be absorbed.
- The soup pot must be non-aluminum and must have a closely tight heavy pot lid to prevent steam to escape.
Recipe : Hippo Soup
Article : On Vitamin B12 and Vegans
Comments : As many strict vegan vegetarians struggle with the lack of Vitamin B12 in their diets, here's an article debating on the vitamin B12 issue. This is from my email archives.
Gabriel Cousins on Vitamin B12
The work at the Tree of Life and in all my nutrition books, Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet, Conscious Eating and Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine is to provide an optimal situation for everyone to be successful vegan and live food practitioners. To that end, we address every single issue that is connected with being successful. The B-12 issue is one that is critical to a successful and healthy vegan and live food way of life.
To understand the significance of this issue, we need to understand a little about the importance of B-12 in the diet. The average non-vegetarian stores between 2,000 and 3,000 picograms (pg., same as micrograms) of B-12 and loses about 3 pg. per day. About 60 percent of the total amount of the B-12 in the body is stored in the liver and 30 percent is stored in the muscle. The body has a special circulation pattern between the digestive tract and the liver. Through the bile, we secrete 1.4 pg. per day of B-12 into the small intestine, and healthy people reabsorb about 0.7 pg. Research suggests that if people have a low B-12 intake, the absorption increases to even draw more B-12 into the system. However, there is still a general potential for slow loss, depending on the variation in this special, what is known as enterohepatic circulation, before we develop the potential of B-12 deficiency symptoms.
B-12 has two functions: one, methylocobalamin is used by the enzyme methionine synthase to change homocysteine into methionine. When this enzyme is not working, we increase the homocysteine in our system, which recent research has associated with the increased potentiality of heart disease and deterioration of the arteries and nerves. When the homocysteine is high, it appears to be a nerve toxin, as well as a blood vessel toxin. The second function of B-12 is as a coenzyme is using 5'-deoxyadenosylcobalamin in the enzyme methyl malonyl-CoA mutase in the conversion of methyl malonyl-coA to succinyl-CoA.
Elevated homocysteine also happens with deficiencies in B-6 or folic acid. One of the major symptoms of B-12 or folic acid deficiency is macrocytic anemia. Folate, also called folic acid, is needed to turn the uracil into thymidine, an essential building block of DNA. This DNA is needed for production of new red blood cells and for red blood cell division. B-12 is involved because it is involved in the pathway that creates methyl cobalamin. This B-12 also produces a form of folate needed to make DNA. So, if there is no B-12, folate can become depleted and DNA production slows down.
Another little side part of the methyl malonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA conversion is that when the B-12 is not available, the methyl malonyl-CoA levels increase and are converted to methyl malonic acid, which accumulates in the blood and urine. Since the B-12 is the only co-enzyme required in this pathway, methyl malonic acid levels are considered the gold standard as an indicator of B-12 deficiency. Other causes of high methyl malonic acid (MMA) are genetic defects, kidney failure, low blood volume, dysbiosis, pregnancy and hypothyroid. The MMA test is important because the progressive medical community no longer considers serum B-12 levels an accurate measurement of appropriate amounts of B-12. In other words, a normal serum B-12 may not mean that B-12 levels are healthy.
We need a urinary assay of methyl malonic acid to really determine that. This is an important point, because when I first wrote about this issue in Conscious Eating, the establishment of the methyl malonic acid assay as the gold standard had not taken place yet. I based some of my statements at that time on the world research, which was using serum B-12. A serum B-12 of 200 pg. or less was considered deficient. As a result of the new gold standard and what we know about MMA and homocysteine, the B-12 serum levels should be around 450 pg. to maintain a normal homocysteine level. Therefore, serum B-12 levels less than 450 pg. may be considered as indicating a B-12 deficiency.
There are a variety of symptoms of B-12 deficiency, which are important to vegans and live fooders. The first is actually low energy. It could be a reason why some people just don't feel well on these diets, besides not getting the right protein/carbohydrate/fat mix for their constitutional type.
There are specific neurological symptoms, often described as "subacute combined degeneration". Some of this damage can be almost irreversible, if it becomes chronic. This nerve system degeneration affects peripheral nerves and the spinal cord. Some of the typical neurological feelings include depression, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, nervousness, paranoia, hyperactive reflexes, impaired memory and behavioral changes.
With a B-12 deficiency, one can also have diarrhea, fever, frequent upper respiratory infections, impotence, infertility, sore tongue, enlargement of the mucous membranes of the mouth, vagina, and stomach, macrocytic anemia, low platelets, increased bleeding, low white blood cell count.
Some of the causes of B-12 deficiency are low dietary intake of B-12 and/or poor absorption, which usually comes through loss of intrinsic factor and/or a lack of stomach acid.
Consistent research over the last decade has shown that vegans and live food people of all ages and sexes have a much higher risk of becoming B-12 deficient. This does not mean that everyone becomes B-12 deficient. This deficiency is particularly true with newborn babies, especially babies of vegan live-food nursing mothers who are not using B-12 supplementation.
In contrast to the average adult storage of 2,000-3,000 pg. of B-12, newborns of mothers with normal B-12 have about 25 pg. Studies have shown that the milk during the first week of life does contain large amounts of B-12. This means that the B-12 storage in infants at birth is normally adequate to last the first few weeks of life. Afterwards, they must get it from breast milk or other sources. If a vegan or live-food mother is already B-12 deficient during pregnancy, the baby may be born with seriously low B-12 levels and develop clinical signs of deficiency as soon as two weeks.
The general research suggests that even among non-vegetarians, B-12 can be insufficient in infants, and that perhaps all breastfeeding mothers should consider B-12 supplements for themselves and their infants during the time of breastfeeding. This lack of B-12 in the mother's diet during pregnancy has been associated with a lack of myelin production, which is the coating of the nerves. It takes somewhere between one to twelve months to develop, and manifests as failure to thrive and slow developmental progression. The babies are often lethargic, lose their ability to use muscle adequately, and even their sensory attunement decreases. They also have irregular macrocytic anemia.
The good news that one major study in the United Kingdom in 1988 showed, in studying 37 vegan children was that there was normal growth and development in children who were breastfed for 6 months at a minimum, when there was B-12 supplementation.
Young children and teenage children who were supplemented with B-12 were found to grow normally. Adults who were vegetarian without B-12 supplementation for greater than six years usually had a lower B-12 than non-vegetarian adults in the general research. In one study of adults in 1994, 81% of the vegan adults had a B-12 lower than 200 pg. That is approximately the percentage of adults on a live food diet who are low in B-12. In my clinical experience, meat eaters, vegans and live-fooders tend to have a fairly high percentage of B-12 deficiency, although meat eaters do have less incidence.
My experience is that cooked food vegans have a higher incidence of B-12 deficiency than live fooders, but there is still a significant occurance in live fooders. In vegetarians and vegans, there is also a high percentage under 200 pg., about 54%. A study in 1982 by Dunn and Scott of raw food vegans with 83 subjects from the Natural Hygiene Society showed that 92% of the vegans had a B-12 less than 200 pg., and in 53% it was less than 100 pg.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers B-12 deficiency to be less than 200 pg. The percentages of B-12 deficiency tend to increase over time on a natural hygiene diet. Another study in Finland in 1995 that examined B-12 status of long-term 100% raw vegans found that 66% of the people had a B-12 lower than 200 pg. One study done in 2000 by Donaldson at Hallelujah Acres on primarily live food diet people, but with some B-12 supplementation via nutritional yeast, showed only about 15% of the people were less than 200, and none of them less than 160. The supplementation with nutritional yeast was 5 pg. of B-12 from one tablespoon of Red Star Vegetarian Support.
Up until this time, many of us have felt that additional supplementation for live fooders with sea vegetables or probiotic formulas was sufficient for protection against B-12 deficiency. This does not seem to be the case. In macrobiotics, who primarily cook their food, we see a very high percentage of children actually having growth retardation due to low B-12 intake. Many of us have felt that spirulina, Klamath Lake Algae, all the sea vegetables had enough active B-12 to avoid a B-12 deficiency. Although the research is not fully in, we do know that, as I pointed out in Conscious Eating, these substances do have human active B-12. The problem is they also have a significant amount of analog B-12 that competes with the human active B-12. This analog amount was not measured in my studies.
Using the methyl malonic acid reduction approach, which is now the gold standard, research showed that when people used dry and raw nori from Japan, the dried nori actually made the methyl malonic acid (MMA) status worse, which means it actually reduced the B-12 status. Therefore it could possibly worsen a B-12 deficiency. Raw nori seemed to keep the methyl malonic acid at the same level, meaning it did not harm the B-12 status, but the research showed it did not particularly help it either. No food in Europe or the U.S. has been tested for lowering methyl malonic acid. Research absolutely has to be done to answer this question fully.
There is one exception to this lack of vegetarian B-12 active food, which is that we do produce B-12 from bacteria in our large intestine, but since this B-12 is produced in the area below where B-12 is reabsorbed, it is really not available for absorption. Some people have argued that a lot of species of lower mammals do not need B-12. The reason why this is true is that a lot of species that are primarily vegetarian animals eat their feces.
Human research also has shown if you eat your feces, you will get enough B-12. Dr. Herbert sponsored research in England where vegan volunteers with a documented B-12 deficiency were fed B-12 extractions made from their own feces. It cured their B-12 deficiency. So, there is a natural vegan way to do it. It may not be the most tasteful way, however.
Some have theorized that organic foods, in various regions, would improve the B-12 tests by lowering the serum malonic acid, but again, the research has not shown that washed or unwashed organic food has made a difference. Many animals, aside from eating their own feces, will ingest a variety of eggs, insects, small vertebrates or soils. For example, gorillas, who are the closest to vegan of all the species, will eat insects and sometimes their feces. So there are ways to do this for vegans, but again, they may not be the most aesthetic or tasteful. I would love, at this point, to come up with an alternative to this, however it doesn't seem to be the case.
There are many ideas of vegan foods that have active B-12, but few are proving to actually raise B-12 or prevent its loss. The research has shown, for example, that tempeh does not supply human active B-12. Research in both the U.S. and the Netherlands has confirmed this. There was one paper that showed that tempeh from one particular source in Thailand did have some B-12, but what they basically found was that fermented soybean did not contain B-12. Other foods such as barley, malted syrup, sourdough bread, parsley, shitake mushrooms, tofu, and soybean paste, had some B-12 in them. Amazake rice, barley miso, miso, natto, rice miso, shoyu, tamari, umeboshi, and a variety of nuts, seeds and grains did not contain any elements or even any detectable B-12 analog.
My study using the earlier gold standard test for B-12 active bacteria did show indeed that arame, dulse, kelp, kombu and wakame had significant human active B-12. Other studies have shown that dulse did have a certain amount of B-12 analog per serving. Until research is done to see if it actually lowers the methyl malonic acid levels, the question has to be raised that we can't assume that because a food has human active B-12 it will help avoid a B-12 deficiency, because the actual non-human active analogs may be blocking the human active B-12.
The same question arises now with the aphanizomenon flos-aqua and spirulina, as well as chlorella. So, until we actually do the gold standard test of these, through the methyl malonic test, to see if it actually lowers the methyl malonic acid, I think it is reasonable to eat these foods, but not expect that they are actually going to raise your human active B-12. My serum B-12 of 600 pg. may have thrown off my conclusions when I wrote my summary in 1990. I may have been in that 20% of vegans and live food people that don't seem to be affected. But I am more concerned about the other 80% that are B-12 deficient and that 50% whose B-12 levels go down to less than 100 pg.
A study done in 1991 by Miller found that serum B-12 appeared to be unrelated to consumption of wakame, kombu, and other sea vegetables or tempeh in macrobiotic children. Other researchers feel that it is possible that raw nori, not dried nori, is a source of active B-12. Some of these conclusions are not finalized. This brings me to the next issue, which is, what is a normal level of B-12?
Now the next question really is, what is a healthy level of B-12 in the serum? The answer is that a serum level of 450 pg. keeps the homocysteine level within normal levels. Some might just say that dulse and raw nori and an algae called cocolithophorid algae, also known as pleurochritias cartera, may provide sufficient human active B-12. They have not been fully tested with the gold standard. The normal serum homocysteine level is 2.2 - 13.2 micromoles/liter. The normal adult urine MMA is .58 - 3.56 micromoles/mmol/cr. The normal level of B-12 for breast milk is 180 - 300 pg. per ml. The normal urine level for children is 820 - 11,200 micromoles/mmol/cr of MMA. The normal serum B-12 level of children is 160 - 1300 pg. per ml.
Using the methyl malonic acid study as the gold standard, elevated methyl malonic acid was found in subjects with a B-12 up to 486 pg. This is a really important statement, because up 'til this time, most of the studies in the world health basically say that 200 pg. and above is not considered deficient. That was somewhat how I based my ideas that B-12 in many vegans and raw foodists was low normal, but still within normal.
Using the gold standard methyl malonic acid test, studies show that without supplementing with B-12, vegans have higher homocysteine levels than lacto-ovo vegetarians and non-vegetarians, which means they are deficient in B-12. The good news, of course, is that B-12 supplementation will decrease these high homocysteine levels back to normal range. High homocysteine levels are connected with the potential for heart disease, arterial destruction and neurological pathologies. Other diseases associated with an elevated homocysteine are: Alzheimer's, age related hearing loss, neural tube defects, recurrent loss of pregnancy, increased mortality.
Many non-vegetarians also have a poor B-12 status because there are many factors that can cause B-12 deficiency. They include malabsorption or inadequate intake of protein or calories or B-12, radiation exposure, drugs, and a variety of toxins, paraminosalicylic acid, alcohol, pancreatic tumors, failure of the small intestine to contract and move food associated with bacterial overgrowth, oral contraceptives, fungal infections, liver and kidney disease, tobacco smoking and B-6 or iron deficiency.
The research conclusion is that: it is a reasonably safe bet that about 80% of the vegan and live food population, over time, runs the risk of a subclinical or clinical B-12 deficiency and increased homocysteine levels.
An even higher percentage of newborns run this risk. My suggestion, out of my concern for all of my clients, for my fellow live fooders and vegans is that it is well advised to supplement with an actual B-12 human active supplement. There are vegan B-12 supplements, which allow us to be totally successful vegan live fooders.
My general recommendation is that if you have symptoms of B-12 deficiency, you can even start with a 100 pg. injection, or according to the research, an oral administration of 1,000 pg. per day for two to four weeks is equal to repeated monthly injections. After about a month of the oral, the dose can be cut in half. One can even cut that in half again. I don't really recommend nutritional red star yeast, because of the fungal potential; I think that the safest and healthiest approach is via supplementation.
Some people eat according to their philosophy and belief of what is natural, and this may be an impediment. For example, the black Hebrews, a group of African-Americans who have migrated to Israel, have horrendously high levels of infant B-12 deficiency, as well as adult B-12 deficiency. They did not believe in taking supplements. Data in a 1982 study showed that of the infants who were breastfed for three months, and then were given diluted homemade soymilk for three months to one year, 25 of them (a significant percentage) had protein deficiency, iron and B-12 anemia, as well as zinc deficiency.
In the 1982 study, three of the infants were dead on arrival, five more died within a few hours of hospital admission, despite treatment. Serum levels were low in 9 of 15 cases and undetectable in three of them. I don't feel this is a very good example of what we want to show to the world in the way we want to treat our children. We can make those choices. We have a theory of natural, and we also have a theory of what it means to be healthy.
This is the first time in history that we can be completely successful live food vegans. What I mean by being successful is completely healthy, including no B-12 deficiency and no elevated homocysteine levels. It is my medical opinion, as a vegan since 1973 and live fooder since 1983, and as a person committed to supporting all those who choose to become healthy live food vegans, that it would be wise to incorporate some B-12 supplementation in your diet. I believe it is more natural to be healthy than it is to be anything less than that.
Gabriel Cousens, M.D., M.D.(H), Dip. Ayurveda
B12 UPDATE March 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I was pleased by the general positive response to the B12 article. It was nice that so many people understood the integrity of my intent, which is to create the understanding and support for everyone to be successful on a live food diet. The ethics of live food lifestyle are wonderful, but we need to remember that we are still in the first few generations of a worldwide live food movement. We need to give honest feedback so we can attain the highest level of health and make this a truly successful worldwide movement.
Contrary to what a few people wanted to interpret from my article, there was more than one study that showed live food people were B12 deficient. There were at least three studies on adults and two on children. All five of these published live food studies showed the participants had serious deficiencies. These are no studies that show live food vegans do not get B12 deficient overtime. There are at least fifteen vegan studies on adults that have shown identical results. Cooked food and live food vegans show the same resultsÂ…approximately 80% of those who do not use B12 supplements or B12 fortified foods sooner or later develop symptoms of B12 deficiency. These may include physical symptoms such as the inability to walk, tremors, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, fever, upper respiratory infections, impotence, infertility, anemia as well as neurological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, hyperactive reflexes, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, impaired memory, and paranoid delusions. These appear in children as well, but in children if they are not caught in time, they often result in death. Sickness and death due to B12 deficiency do not support the expansion of the vegan live food movement. These symptoms are not just “a misunderstood healing crises or poorly functioning colon or a poor live food diet.”
Although bacteria in the colon do produce B12, it is not reabsorbed into the system. Published research has shown that if people eat an extract of their feces they will not get a B12 deficiency. Although this may be considered natural, it is not something that I recommend. There are far easier and tasteful ways to build the B12 such as taking a supplement or eating B12 fortified foods. Whether oneÂ’s colon is clean or not, B12 does not get absorbed from the colon. A reasonable dose is 10-100 micrograms per day. Research shows that a daily intake best approximates the natural intake pattern. Vegan tablets are available from a variety of companies; Twin Labs has gelatin in its tablet and therefore is not vegan. There are three forms of B12: cyanocobalamin, methylcobalamin, and hydroxycobalamin. Although all three forms work, but cyanocobalamin probably should not be used in people with kidney problems or who smoke. In some studies with people with severe B12 deficiencies oral doses of 1000 micrograms per day for two months worked as well as 1000 microgram injections repeatedly given.
A published report cites a man in his eighties who had been in excellent health as a vegan for 38 years, when suddenly he began to suffer from mental disturbances, developed confusion and sadness, lost bowel control, and lost motor control skill to the point where he could marginally stand up. After one shot of B12 his physical and mental health began to rapidly return and by one week many of his symptoms had disappeared. A personal communication with Nazariah Owen who developed weakness, fatigue and impaired motor and nervous system symptoms including the loss of the ability to walk following a seven year history of lacto-vegetarian diet followed by a five year history of a pure raw vegan diet tells of a too common story. His symptoms disappeared after starting B12 supplementation and eating B12 fortified foods. He found many people who had similar B12 deficiency symptoms, but who were afraid to share publicly. An additional health problem associated with a low B12 is elevated homocysteine which is associated with an increased incidence of heart attacks, neurological problems, neural tube defects in children especially if the folic acid is low, increased incidence of hearing loss with age. In one study women with higher homocysteine levels had 170% chance of two or more pregnancy losses in the first trimester.
If the live food movement is to mature, it requires that we do not suppress honest feedback so we can solve the problems that do arise in this young mass movement. YesÂ…there are 20% who may not get an immediate or even a deficiency after 20 years. There are one million four hundred thousand genetic variations in our DNA. Some people are going to get B12 deficient sooner than others or not at all because of their particular enzyme systems and metabolic patterns. For some it may be like the man in his eighties who took thirty-eight years before becoming deficient.
For those who do not want to risk the eighty percent chance of becoming deficient, oral supplementation is the simplest way to avoid a B12 deficiency and elevated homocysteine levels. The personal physical, moral and spiritual reasons for succeeding at live food vegan diet, the shift in world consciousness and healing of the planetary ecology brings is a far greater gift than the ego gratification of holding on to a concept of naturalness.
Recipe : Vegan Chermoula
The recipe is modified for Gerson Therapy cancer patients which omits strong aromatic spices and oils in their strict diet.
Recipe : Chermoula
Makes around 500ml marinade
Fresh Ingredients :
- 1 red onion
- 5 garlic cloves
- 90g organic coriander, including stalks
- 150g organic Italian Flat leaf parsley
- 1 strand saffron
- 1/2 bunch organic mint leaf
Other Ingredients :
- 1.5 Tablespoon Ras el Hanout
- 200ml Flax oil
- 1/2 lemon - juiced
Modified Ras el Hanout :
(roast the mixtured spices in low to medium heat in wok)
- 1 bay leaf (pounded finely)
- 1 teaspoon thyme (pounded finely)
- 1 teaspoon ground mace
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground anise
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seed (pounded finely)
Optional for Non GT patients :
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- I teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Method
- Blend in food processor for 1 min, all the fresh ingredients and roasted Ras el Hanout except flax oil and lemon juice. Texture should be pesto-like.
- Slowly add small portions of Flax oil and lemon juice to the mixture till thick and paste form.
- Cover marinade mixture to eggplant, sweet capscium or squashes. Grill.
Recipe : Sprouting your own food
Ever have trouble digesting beans or grains properly?
Want a great and cheap way to stay healthy?
Sprout them!
For those into Raw and Living Foods, sprouts are an essential part of the living diet.
The Lowdown on Sprouts:
- Enzymes , digestion and Nutritional info
Some of the most nutritious are rye, fenugreek, wheat, mung bean, lentils, and alfalfa. The increase of vitamins in sprouts is tremendous during the sprouting period, compared to the unsprouted seed. Studies from India and Asia show increases in carotene and vitamin A, Dr. C.W. Bailey of the University of Minnesota showed, in a study attempting to establish the importance of enzymes in the human body, that vitamin C value increased by 600 percent in sprouted wheatgrass.
Many Brassicas sprouts (such as broccoli, cabbage, mustard, radish) contain high amount of anti-oxidants and increased vitamins and minerals.
According to John Hopkins University researchers estimates that a three day Broccoli sprouts contains 20 to 50 times the anti-oxidant compound sulfurophane than matured broccoli. Radish seeds may also have the anti-cancer potential according to Australian researchers (Australia Department of Primary Industries Queensland)
How to Sprout (takes 2-3days)
Sprouting is easy, a little time consuming, but its highly nutritious and great low budget option for those who find organic produce too expensive.
- Soak your beans in filtered clean water for 12-24 hours (depending on beans). Quality of water is important if you want your sprouts to taste great.
- Use a wide mouthed glass jar and filling up to one third of it with seeds. Sterilise the glass jar with hydrogen peroxide. Fit a piece of mesh (or muslin netting) over the mouth of the jar with a rubber band. The jar should be airy and slightly exposed.
- Rinse and drain the beans four times for every 8 hours, Find a cool place out of the sun to keep your jar tilted downwards at an angle to keep your beans oxygenated. Cover with tea-towel - beans need darkness to germinate.
- Rinse the beans with fresh filtered water. This is important. Germinated seeds/beans in our tropical and humid weather encourages bacterial and fungal growth. But regular rinsing with water oxygenates the seeds, preventing fungal growth. If sprouts smells bad, dump it and restart.
- When sprouts are ready, give them final rinse. Sprouted tail should be at least 2 times the length of the bean/seed
- Make sure the sprouts are completely drained of fluids and lightly moist. Store them in the fridge in a glass jar or zip-lock bag.
Further reference
-Book: "Sprout for the Love of Every Body"by author Viktoras Kulvinskas
- Raw and Living Food Website http://www.living-foods.com/articles/
Caretrace : search and find where food comes from
Commercial and industrial agriculture and businesses have long severed our ties with the people and the land that grow our food. We as consumers have stopped being conscious of where our food comes from, our children only knows that food comes from the supermarket.
Won't it be great to meet the people who grow and produce our produce, our foods. That gives us a little choice on our purchases and how the items we buy affects our environment and the people who are dependant on it. Being conscious about our food sources allows us to be more pro-active in building a more sustainableEarth. Start asking ourselves, how does eating meat affect our environment, or how does growing this apple with pesticides affecting our health and the health of the land?
This new website Caretrace(http://www.caretrace.com) I found recently, has a great idea of connecting us to the source. Being new, it hardly has any food items on the list and minimal information. It would be a delight to see it grow and expand. Do support it.
Here's what it says about Caretrace :
Caretrace allows you to learn more about the origins of your food and the people who produce it. Trace products to a farm and read biogs, watch videos and explore maps.
You can also link products to projects and find out how some of the money spent is going to good causes which benefit the local communities where these products are made.
List of Organic Food to buy
10 Produce to Buy Organic
Studies based on 1999 studies by Consumers Union (CU)and the Environmental Working Group (EWG)
The two groups analyzed the amounts and toxicity of pesticide residues found in conventionally grown food samples by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. While most of these foods don’t exceed safety tolerances for a dose of a single pesticide, most contain multiple pesticide residues. CU and EWG have also considered combined exposures and risks to children. One-year-olds eat three times as many fresh peaches, per pound of body weight, as do adults, and more than four times as many apples and pears, according to CU’s Consumer Reports. In addition, children’s rapidly developing bodies are more vulnerable than adults’ are. Pregnant women should take care, too, as many pesticides cross the placenta to expose the fetus. Although DDT and related chemicals such as dieldrin have been banned in the U.S. for over 20 years, these pesticides can still be found in foods that absorb them from the soil. To reduce your pesticide exposure, you can peel fruit that you would normally just rinse, such as apples and pears. Some pesticides, like dieldrin, aldicarb and DDT, however, are systemic, pervading the flesh of the vegetable or fruit.
10 Fruits And Vegetables To Buy Organic
Peaches
Summer’s blushing fruit contains high residues of iprodione, classified as a probable human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and methyl parathion, an endocrine disruptor and organophosphate (OP) insecticide. Methyl parathion has caused massive kills of bees and birds. According to Consumer Reports, single servings of peaches "consistently exceeded" EPA’s safe daily limit for a 44-pound child.
Apples
Apples may contain methyl parathion. Both fresh apples and baby food applesauce can also contain chlorpyrifos, an OP which has caused large bird kills. CORE Values IPM apple growers are trying to phase out OPs.
Pears
Pears, both fresh and in baby food, can also come with methyl parathion, as well as the OP azinphos-methyl, which is toxic to freshwater fish, amphibians and bees.
Winter Squash
Dieldrin, a chlorinated, carcinogenic insecticide, exceeded the safe daily limit for a young child in two-thirds of positive samples. Another potent carcinogen, heptachlor, also showed up. DDT and its breakdown product, DDE, were detected in baby food squash.
Green Beans
Green Beans can contain acephate, methamidophos and dimethoate (three neurotoxic OPs), and endosulfan, an endocrine-disrupting insecticide, which showed up in baby food, too. Acephate disorients migrating birds, throwing them off course.
U.S. grapes contain methyl parathion and methomyl, a carbamate insecticide listed as an endocrine disruptor; imports may contain dimethoate.
Strawberries
The enhanced red color of strawberries comes from the fungicide captan, a probable human carcinogen that can irritate skin and eyes, and is highly toxic to fish. While the lethal soil fumigant methyl bromide doesn’t show up on the fruit, it has harmed California farm workers, and depletes the ozone layer.
Raspberries
These berries can contain captan, iprodione and carbaryl, a suspected endocrine disruptor that has also been found in plum baby food
Spinach
Permethrin, a possible human carcinogen, and dimethoate dominate spinach’s toxicity ratings, but CU notes that residue levels have been declining as U.S. farmers reduce use of these insecticides. DDT has been found in spinach, which leads all foods in exceeding safety tolerances.
Potatoes
Pesticide use on potatoes is growing, CU warns. They may contain dieldrin and methamidophos, and children eating potatoes risk getting a very high dose of aldicarb, CU says.
Note: In an update to its 1999 report, Consumers Union announced two more foods high in chlorpyrifos or other pesticide residues: tomatoes and cantaloupe.
Eating Raw Potatos - Poisonous?
"Do you know that eating raw potato is poisonous?"
A friend munched on while we were making some lunch conversations of my recent fascination on raw foods. He was not the first person to tell me that. The first person who gave me that info, warned by not to go raw on potatos. I did give him a little old home folk remedy piece, the raw potato juice, rich in potassium and other minerals is use to treat gout,rheumatism and arthritis.
My aunt's brother in-law has been drinking raw potato juice every morning on a daily basis for the past few years is still very much alive and without any side effects.
Intrigued and wondered if this is yet another urban legend, a false or misleading fact not verified but passed down by many innocent folks who take word of mouth as facts.
So ok, we are told since young, that we shouldn't eat green potatos or potatos with sprouts runs true, well partly.
Potatos originated from South America, comes from the Solanaceae nightshade family, it is one of the most commonly cultivated tubers in the world.
Potato contains Solanine & chaconine, glycoalkaloids that is concentrated in the leaves and the sprouts of the plant. However it is not the green in the potato that is poisonous. Its the chlorophyll that gives the Green. Potatos contains chlorophyll resulting from excessive exposure to light. This same process of photosynthesis that produces chlorophyll also produces solanine, that are toxic and affects the body's nervous system.
So avoid eating the green tubers or new sprouts, remove any of the budding sprouts, remove the green skin. Cooking the spud above 170 °C or 340 °F does destroy some concentration.
Solanine mostly contains just below the skin of the spud, but in some spuds, the level varies. So you could probably remove the skin and still able to eat the green spud.
Fun facts :
Non-organic potatos contain high concentration of pesticides. They may contain dieldrin (lung cancer) and methamidophos (muscle and motor cranial paralysis), and aldicarb (respiratory paralysis). So where possible, eat Organic Potatos.
Not so Fun Fact:
Wanna know what the medical term for Potato Poisoning called?
Solanum tuberosum poisoning.
Symptoms
* Hypothermia (lower than normal body temperature)
* Paralysis
* Shock
* Fever
* Slowed breathing
* Dilated pupils
* Vision changes
* Stomach or abdominal pain
* Vomiting
* Diarrhea
* Slow pulse
* Headache
* Delirium
* Loss of sensation
* Hallucinations
Quick cure : Induce vomitting, swallow activated charcoal, admit to emergency.
More Fun Facts on the uses of Raw potatos :
Cure Common Warts
Raw potatoes are chock full of Potassium, Vitamin C and Iron. If you have a common wart you want to get rid of, cut off a piece off a raw potato. Rub the flesh side over the wart so it's completely covered with the juice. Then, discard the potato piece. Don't rinse the juice off. Do this daily until the wart is gone.
Soothe Minor Skin Burns
Another unusual use for a raw potato is to treat minor burns. The next time you get a burn, peel and dice up a small potato- or use a piece of a peeled potato, depending how large the affected area is- into fine pieces. Add a bit of tap water, just enough to make a paste. Apply the potato paste to the burn and let it set undisturbed for several minutes. You should feel relief from the pain.
Remove Berry Stains From Your Hands
Berry stains are tough to remove. Rub the stains with a peeled, raw potato, they should come right off! Finish by rinsing the juice and the berry stains off your hands with plenty of tap water.
Remove Excess Salt From Soups and Stews
Cut up one or two washed, raw potatoes and drop them into the pot. Allow the potato to cook for several minutes, then use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces. The potato will have absorbed the excess salt.
Get Rid of a Throbbing Headache
Slice the potato in half and place a piece on each temple. Gently rub your temples with the potato until the pain lets up.
Give Your Geraniums a Nutritional Boost
If you're planting young Geranium plants, or you have existing plants that are looking a little anemic, a raw potato can help make them grow better. Just cut up a small raw potato and place it into the hole along with the plant. To give existing Geranium plants a boost, dig some of the soil out and away from the stem. Place the pieces of raw potato around the stem, then replace the soil.
Raw Potato juice to your Car Washer
Add raw potato juice in your organic vegetable based environmentally friendly car detergent.
It helps disintegrate tough stains or spots on your car without damaging the paint work.
Causes of cancer according to American Institute for Cancer
What people eat and how fast they grow are both significant causes of cancer, but many Americans still incorrectly believe that factors such as pesticides on food are bigger causes, experts reported today.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of cancer for mother and child, and tall people have a higher risk of cancer than shorter people, the report found.
"We need to think about cancer as the product of many long-term influences, not as something that 'just happens,"' Dr Walter Willett, a nutrition expert at the Harvard School of Public Health in Massachusetts, told a news conference.
The report, released jointly by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, is the result of five years of study by nine teams of scientists.
They reviewed 7,000 studies on diet, exercise, weight and cancer.
Most of what they recommended is in line with what health experts, including governments and the World Health Organisation, have long been advising - that diets based on fruits, vegetables and whole grains and that go easy on red meats, dairy products and fats protect against heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
They found evidence that factors such as hormones that cause the body to grow quickly may be involved in some cancers.
"We found that tallness is also probably linked to increased risk for ovarian, pancreatic and pre-menopausal cancer as well," said Willett. He stressed that tall people are not destined to get cancer but should take care to maintain healthy habits.
The groups make keeping a healthy weight their No. 1 recommendation to reduce the risk of cancer.
"Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight," the 400-page report reads. That means keeping a body mass index, they said, of between 21 and 23. BMI is a calculation of height to weight, and the normal range is usually considered to be 18 to 25, with anything over 25 being overweight.
Exercise is also key.
"Be physically active as part of everyday life," is the second of 10 recommendations made by the expert panel. The recommendations also include eating mostly plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables and grains, avoiding calorie-dense foods such as sugary drinks, and limiting red meat, alcohol and salt.
The American Institute for Cancer Research also released a survey of 1000 US adults that show most do not understand these risks. Only 38 per cent knew of the link between cured and processed meats and cancer, 49 per cent knew that diets low in fruits and vegetables raised the risk of cancer and 46 per cent knew that obesity was a well-documented risk.
But 71 per cent thought that pesticide residue on produce was a cause - something that has never been shown; 56 per cent thought stress causes cancer, again not proven; and 49 per cent believed hormones in beef cause cancer.
"Americans are increasingly likely to attribute cancer to factors over which they have no control, and for which no proven links to the disease exist," the report reads.
"This reflects an 'everything causes cancer' mindset," it adds.
The meat industry quickly denounced the report.
"WCRF's conclusions are extreme, unfounded and out of step with dietary guidelines," said American Meat Institute Foundation Vice President of Scientific Affairs Randy Huffman.
World Cancer Research Report on foods
A bad news week for bacon - but diet drinks and coffee in the clear
http://blogs.smh.com.au/lifestyle/chewonthis/archives/2007/11/a_bad_news_week_for_bacon_but.html
Things looked bleak for lovers of big breakfasts last week when the World Cancer Research Fund delivered its verdict on the link between cancer and bacon, but not all the news in this report was bad. While the media homed in on the increased risk of cancer from processed meats and alcohol, this epic report that reviewed 7,000 studies of diet, exercise, weight and cancer did have its positive side - coffee, for instance, was unlikely to 'have a substantial effect on cancer', it said.
Artificial sweeteners like saccharin, cyclamates and aspartame were let off the hook too - at least in terms of cancer. These sweeteners have been under suspicion for years, but although research has found that very high doses of artificial sweeteners, especially saccharin, increased bladder cancer in animals, the report points out that the studies used huge amounts that were far greater than anything humans would normally consume in food and drinks. What's more, the evidence from epidemiological studies (meaning studies of disease trends in different populations) shows no detectable effect on cancer risk, it concluded.
But back to breakfast. If you're looking for something to replace bacon with your eggs, you could do worse than cooked tomatoes: they're rich in carotenoids - the plant pigments also found in orange and yellow fruit and veg, spinach and Asian greens, and which the WCRF report says probably lower the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and lung. And stir in some crushed garlic too - likely to help prevent bowel and stomach cancer. Other good news?
-Foods containing folate - think liver, spinach, beans, broccoli, oranges, cos lettuce, avocado, asparagus and paw paw - get the thumbs up for probably protecting against cancer of the pancreas.
- Onions, chives, leeks - and more garlic may help prevent stomach cancer.
- Selenium, a mineral found in brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and fish probably protects against prostate cancer.
-Dairy products? A mixed verdict here - while milk probably lowered the risk of bowel cancer, the
report said, there was some evidence that diets high in calcium were a probable cause of prostate cancer.
By the way, if you want to replace bacon at breakfast, cooked mushrooms are hard to beat because of their strong flavour and meaty texture. They also make a good substitute in recipes - like pasta sauces - that include bacon.
pH Living creating a more healthy you
We have all know that eating more vegetables and less meat will produce a more alkaline pH level in our bodies.
Because of everyday living and diet of meats, refined grains, dairy, breads and high sugar fruits , our bodies are too acidic. The pH level (the acid-alkaline measurement) of our internal fluids affects every cell in our bodies. Extended acid imbalances of any kind are not well tolerated by the body.
When we have over acidic pH level, results from external acidic environment as well as eating meats which produces acidicity in our bodies. Having an over acidic pH level in our bodies, interrupt the cellular activities and affect the organ function such as heart palpitation, neural networks in our brain system. Over-acidification also affects the rest of the organ functions and also our body tissues and cells.
It is also commonly known that an over-acidic body will generally cause cancer cells to mutate as a symptom. Remember that cancer is produced as an reaction to our state of body and health.
Eating lots of green raw vegetables and fruits helps bringing a more balance pH level in our bodies hence a more healthy state.
Here's Dr Young's pH Miracle living video
Quotation from http://www.phmiracleliving.com/
| An answer began to form through years of research, and Dr. Young found support for his studies in the findings of several American and European scientists. One scientific researcher, Dr. Bircher-Benner, concisely summarized the relationship between light and cells: "The absorption and organization of sunlight, the essence of life, is derived almost exclusively through plants. Since light is the driving force of every cell in our bodies, that is why we need green plants." Already convinced of the overwhelmingly |  |
| healthy (and underwhelmingly utilized) benefits plants contribute to our diet, the Young's set out to harness this natural cache of light and direct its energies to individual human cells. The result was a family of natural, plant and mineral-based supplements, each "energized" to reflect its origin from the sun. "It's what our mission and products are all about," explains Shelley Young. "Transferring the inner light of plants to our body's cells." And InnerLight was born. | |
What organic foods I eat nowdays
I'm being more aware these days, very awfully picky about what I eat and what to avoid.
Going fully organic at the moment is not feasible, as I do eat out, and most places don't order organic produce. Its also a big blow on the budget. By putting the 'Organic' label on your foods, the food marts will markup up 3-10 times non-organic ones.
Its really stupid that by not polluting or poisoning your vegetables with pesticides and inorganic nitrite fertilizers will cost more than the poisoned ones we are getting in the supermarkets.
Whenever I can, I eat some organic fruits. I also try to eat more local green organic vegetables when available. My motto is, if the fruit or vegetable is unusually way too big than it should be, growth hormones are usually used. Fruits which are more susceptible to pest like berries are usually more heavily sprayed. So Avoid!
These are the ones that are more heavily sprayed with pesticides (not in any order)
1. Peaches & Nectrines
2. Cherries
3. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
4. Bell Peppers, chillies
5. Lettuce
6. Grapes
7. Potatos
8. Carrots
9. Apples
10. Pears
11. Plums
12. Tomato
13. Passion Fruit
14. Pomegrantes
The fruits with growth hormones
1. Mango (jumbo ones we occassionally see in the markets)
2. Watermelon
3. Honeydew
4. Peaches
Article: Soy too Good to be True?
Ran through my Gerson Therapy archive and found this about Soy
By Brandon Finucan & Charlotte Gerson ,
Gerson Institute Newsletter Volume 14 #4
In 1924 soybean production in the U.S. was only at 1.8 million acres harvested, but by 1954, the harvested acres grew to 18.9 million. Today, the soybean is America's third largest crop (harvesting 72 million acres in 1998), supplying more than 50 percent of the world's soybean demand.
Most of these beans are made into animal feed and are manufactured into soy oil for use as vegetable oil, margarine and shortening. Of the traditional uses for soy as a food, only soy sauce enjoys widespread consumption in the American diet. Tofu, measuring 90 percent of Asia's use of the soybean, has gained more popularity in the U.S., but soy is still nowhere near a measurable component of the average American diet - or is it?
For more than 20 years now, the soy industry has concentrated on finding alternative uses and new markets for soybeans and soy byproducts. At your local supermarket, soy can now be found disguised as everything from soy cheese, milk, burgers and hot dogs, to ice cream, yogurt, vegetable oil, baby formula and flour (to name just a few). These are often marketed as low-fat, dairy-free, or as a high-protein, meat substitute for vegetarians. But soy isn't always mentioned on the box cover. Today, an alarming 60% of the food on America's supermarket shelves contain soy derivatives (i.e. soy flour, textured vegetable protein, partially hydrogenated soy bean oil, soy protein isolate). When you look at the ingredients list, and really look at the contents of the "Average American Diet," from snack foods and fast foods to prepackaged frozen meals, soy plays a major role.
Where the soybean goes wrong?
Here at the Gerson Institute, we feel the positive aspects of the soybean are overshadowed by their potential for harm. Soybeans in fact contain a large number of dangerous substances. One among them is phytic acid, also called phytates. This organic acid is present in the bran or hulls of all seeds and legumes, but none have the high level of phytates that soybeans do. These acids block the body's uptake of essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and especially zinc. Adding to the high-phytate problem, soybeans are very resistant to phytate reducing techniques, such as long, slow cooking.
Soybeans also contain potent enzyme inhibitors. These inhibitors block uptake of trypsin and other enzymes that the body needs for protein digestion. Normal cooking does not deactivate these harmful "antinutrients," that can cause serious gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and can lead to chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake.
Beyond these, soybeans also contain hemagglutinin, a clot promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together. These clustered blood cells are unable to properly absorb oxygen for distribution to the body's tissues, and cannot help in maintaining good cardiac health. Hemagglutinin and trypsin inhibitors are both "growth depressant" substances. Although the act of fermenting soybeans does deactivate both trypsin inhibitors and hemagglutinin, precipitation and cooking do not. Even though these enzyme inhibitors are reduced in levels within precipitated soy products like tofu, they are not altogether eliminated.
Only after a long period of fermentation (as in the creation of miso or tempeh) are the phytate and "antinutrient" levels of soybeans reduced, making their nourishment available to the human digestive system. The high levels of harmful substances remaining in precipitated soy products leave their nutritional value questionable at best, and in the least, potentially harmful.
What About the Studies?
In recent years, several studies have been made regarding the soybean's effect on human health. The results of those studies, largely underwritten by various factions of the soy industry, were of course overwhelmingly in favor of soy. The primary claims about soy's health benefits are based purely on bad science. Although primary arguments for cancer patients to use soy focus on statistics showing low rates of breast, colon and prostate cancer among Asian people, there are obvious facts being utterly ignored. While the studies boast that Asian women suffer far fewer cases of breast cancer than American women do, the hype neglects to point out that these Asian women eat a diet that is dramatically different than their American counterparts.
The standard traditional Asian diet consists of more natural products, far less fatty meat, greater amounts of vegetables and more fish. Their diets are also lower in chemicals and toxins, as they eat far fewer processed (canned, jarred, pickled, frozen) foods. It is likely these studies are influenced by the fact that cancer rates rise among Asian people who move to the U.S. and adopt American-ized diets. Of course, this change of diet goes hand-in-hand with a dramatic shift in lifestyle. Ignoring the remarkable diet and lifestyle changes, to assume only that reduced levels of soy in these Americanized Asian diets is a primary factor in greater cancer rates is poor judgment, and as stated above, bad science. The changes of dietand lifestyle must be considered to reach the correct conclusion.
A widely circulated article, written by Jane E. Allen, AP Science Writer, titled, "Scientists Suggest More Soy in Diet", cites in the course of a symposium, numerous speakers discussing the probable advantages of soy under the title, "Health Impact of Soy Protein." However, the article states that the $50,000 symposium "was underwritten by Protein Technologies International of St. Louis, a DuPont subsidiary that makes soy protein!" In the course of the same symposium, Thomas Clarkson, professor of comparative medicine at Wake Forest University, states "Current hormone replacement therapy has been a dismal failure from a public health point of view," not because PremarinÆ is known to cause uterine or other female organ cancers, but "because only 20 percent of the women who could benefit from it are taking it."
Other popular arguments in support of soy state that fermented products, like tempeh or natto, contain high levels of vitamin B-12.However, these supportive arguments fail to mention that soy's B-12 is an inactive B-12 analog, not utilized as a vitamin in the human body. Some researchers speculate this analog may actually serve to block the body's B-12 absorption. It has also been found that allergic reactions to soybeans are far more common than to all other legumes. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics admits that early exposure to soy through commercial infant formulas, may be a leading cause of soy allergies among older children and adults.
In his classic book, A Cancer Therapy - Results of 50 Cases (p.237), Dr. Gerson put "Soy and Soy Products" on the "FORBIDDEN" list of foods for Gerson Therapy patients. At the time, his greatest concerns were two items: the high oil content of soy and soy products,and the rather high rate of allergic reactions to soy. Soybeans can add as much as 9 grams of fat per serving, typically adding an average of 5 grams of fat per serving when part of an average American diet.
The Extraction Process
The processes which render the soybean "edible" are also the processes which render it "inedible." In fermenting soybeans, the process entails that the beans be purÈed and soaked in an alkaline solution. The pureed mixture is then heated to about 115ƒC (239ƒF) inside a pressure cooker. This heating and soaking process destroys most, but not all, of the anti-nutrients. At the same time, it has the unwelcome effect of denaturing the proteins of the beans so they become very difficult to digest and greatly reduced in effectiveness. Unfortunately, the alkaline solution also produces a carcinogen, lysinealine, while it reduces the already low cystine content within the soybean. Cystine plays an essential role in liver detoxification, allowing our bodies to filter and eliminate toxins. Without proper amounts of cystine, the protein complex of the soybean becomes useless, unless the diet is fortified with cystine-rich meat, egg, or dairy products - not an option for Gerson patients.
To the soybean's credit, they do contain large amounts of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, but these are particularly susceptible to rancidity when subjected to high pressures and temperatures. Unfortunately, high pressure and temperature are required to remove soybean oil from the soybean.
Before soybeans are sent to your table, they undergo a rigorous process to strip them of their oil. Hexane or other solvents are first applied to help separate the oil from the beans, leaving trace amounts of these toxins in the commercial product. Hexane by definition is; "any of five colorless, volatile, liquid hydrocarbons C6H14 of the paraffin series," and cannot be the least bit beneficial in anyone's diet. After the oil is extracted, the defatted flakes are used to form the three basic soy protein products. With the exception of full-fat soy flour, all soybean products contain trace amounts of carcinogenic solvents.
Personal Experiences
The following letter was received in November 1998: "I have used soy milk for 12 years with no problems. About 9 months ago, I started to have heart palpitations. I thought maybe that I was in menopause, but I wasn't. I added more potassium to my diet and magnesium and vitamin E. No change. I am already decaffeinated but I also took all sugar out of my diet. I lost 25 pounds and felt great except for the palpitations. I tried hawthorn and garlic but nothing was helping. Recently I came down with acute bronchitis and could only drink water because even the soy milk made me have horrendous bouts of coughing. I realized that after a few days my heart palpitations had stopped. I didn't think anything of it because it never occurred to me that soy was the culprit. As soon as I started drinking it again, my heart went crazy. I went off it for a week and then changed brands. Within 30 minutes of drinking only 4 ounces [of soy milk], my heart was all over the place. I've noticed that it takes about 24 to 36 hours for my heart to settle down. I wondered if your research turned up anything like this in regard to soy. I know it is not within the definition of an allergy, but something is definitely going on. I called the manufacturer of the soy milk, but they were of no help. I am very upset because I only drink soy milk and water. I also use the soy milk to make protein shakes (with what else but soy protein)."
In our November/December 1996 issue of the Gerson Healing Newsletter we described another case: a pregnant lady who looked very ill and was terribly deficient! She also described her son, age five, who had many allergies and infections - both were using a good deal of soy in their diet. I recommended that they discontinue the use of all soy products. At the time, I had only just run across this situation. However, a year later, I was in the same area for a lecture, and the lady invited me to dinner. She had cut out all soy products: her skin was now rosy, her face filled out, her sunken eyes normal, her black circles gone and her little boy, now six, was in greatly improved health.
Just last week, another interesting story came to our attention. A patient at the Gerson Certified Hospital in Mexico told us of her son, now 25, who has total lack of hair (Alopecia) with the exception of eyebrows and eyelashes. She added that this started when he was just three years old. Since the mother asked me about this situation, I considered the problem for a moment. Then, looking at the parents who both have normal hair, I figured that the boy's problem was most probably not genetic. So, I asked the mother if he used a lot of soy. She said, no. But then, after thinking about the question for a moment, she said that at about one year of age, the boy had many allergies, so she regularly fed him soy milk! I explained to her that the enzyme and nutrient blocking ability of soy and the likelihood of the soy milk being the cause of his condition starting at age three. Since we had just witnessed the case of a patient whose hair grew back on his bald pate, (See "Practitioner Training" article in this issue) after being bald for some 20 years, I cautiously suggested that a complete change of diet accompanied by intensive detoxification, may be able to overcome the problem.
Don't Believe the Hype!
The Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is one of the leading manufacturers of soy products. They are seeking "GRAS" (generally recognized as safe) status from the FDA for isoflavones, the estrogen-like compounds found in soy products. They have submitted a document entitled, " An information document reviewing the safety of soy isoflavones used in specific dietary applications."
Dr. Mike Fitzpatrick, a biochemist and former Auckland University professor has carefully analyzed this material and presented his findings in an article entitled, "Soy Isoflavones: Panacea or Poison" published in the Journal of the Price-Pottinger Nutrition Foundation (vol. 22, no. 3). Dr. Fitzpatrick concluded that ADM's supporting document "contains factual errors, misrepresents cited authors and does not present the full body of scientific evidence."
ADM claims that "these isoflavones have been consumed by millions of humans for over two thousand years." In actuality, while they have been used in Asia for hundreds of years, they "did not form a significant part of [the Asian] diet." Furthermore, notes Fitzpatrick, "the traditional soybean was quite different from the soybean as we know it today ." The wild soybean, Glycine soja, "is the species that was consumed traditionally and is the ancestor of the modern cultivar, Glycine max, explains Fitzpatrick. The modern day species has been cultivated to breed much more protein than the traditional soybean.
The isoflavones serve as a "defense mechanism in response to pests. Increased disease resistance has been a consistent goal of soybean breeders and it is quite conceivable that this goal has served to increase the levels of isoflavones, and other naturally occurring toxins in the Glycine max." The levels of isoflavones in Glycine max vary considerably. "If this is so, then it is not implausible that the traditional Asian soybean, Glycine soja, contained quite low levels of isoflavones or perhaps none at all," states Fitzpatrick. Therefore, ADM's assertion that soybeans have been safely consumed for over two thousand years cannot be substantiated.
Soy and Infant Formula
What is particularly worrisome is the presence of soy in infant formulas. It is interesting to note that many infants cannot tolerate soy formulas, that they seem to be "allergic" to the soy.
Perhaps the body is instinctively rejecting the enzyme inhibitors found in the soy. In a letter addressed to Linda Kahl at the division of Product Policy of the Food and Drug Administration dated April 22, 1998, Daniel Sheehan, Ph.d and director of the Estrogen Base Program at the National Center for Toxicological Research wrote:"There is abundant evidence that some of the isoflavones, including genistein and equal are toxicants... additionally, isoflavones are inhibitors of thyroid peroxidase which makes T3 and T4. Inhibition can be expected to generate thyroid abnormalities including goiter and autoimmune thyroiditis. In fact, infants consuming soy infant formula rich in isoflavones have about a two-fold risk of developing these diseases...While isoflavones may have beneficial effects at some ages or circumstances, this cannot be assumed to be true at all ages. Isoflavones are like other estrogens in that they are two-edged swords, conferring both benefits and risk.
Dr. Sheehan believes that "The addition of isoflavones to foods needs to be considered just as would the addition of estrogen to foods, which is a bad idea." Dr. Sheehan is very concerned about the high isoflavone content found in soy based formulas. He feels that infants fed these formulas have been placed at risk in a "large, uncontrolled, and basically unmonitored human infant experiment." Dr. Fitzpatrick raises another issue: he believes that soy may combine with other xenoestrogens (such as pesticides). Fitzpatrick writes that "because of the potential for synergistic effects, human exposure to all endocrine disrupters, such as the soy isoflavones urgently requires reduction."
Soy and the Western Diet
In part one of this article, we mentioned that assumptions have been made linking soy intake to the low incidence of certain cancers in Asia. "However, an epidemiological study in China has shown that high soy intake is not protective against breast cancer."1
The soy proponents have conveniently overlooked a study which has shown that high levels of genistein "may stimulate breast cells to enter the cell cycle" 2. These findings are "consistent with an earlier report by Petrakis et al. who expressed concern that women fed soy protein isolate have an increased incidence of epithelial hyperplasia."3
The U.K. government recently published their findings of the effects of soy in the diet, concluding that "there was almost no evidence linking health benefits from foods containing isoflavones to the isoflavones themselves."4
Another study concluded that "any benefits from soy products are not due to isoflavones specifically... [and] the combination of a high phytoestrogen intake with a western diet may not be beneficial.5
Adding to the natural trouble with soybeans, we are faced with a new Western phenomenon: genetically altered soy. Among other genetically altered, or transgenic foods like corn, apples, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, lettuce, potatoes, wheat and even walnuts (to name just a few), soy is one of the most controversial. MonsantoTM, the multi-million dollar biotechnology leader that brought us rBGH (Bovine Growth Hormone), has been fighting to put genetically altered foods on your table for several years. So far, they are winning. The truth is, unless you've been eating ONLY organic foods, it is likely you've been tasting Monsanto's handiwork.
Monsanto has gained millions in profits from sales of its popular herbicide, RoundupÆ, and in turn has produced several transgenic crops that resist it. Soy is of course among those Roundup-ReadyÆ crops. Being resistant to this powerful herbicide, farmers are able to spray more of it on their crops, resulting in higher levels of toxins in the harvested product. Recent studies have shown that sprayed soybean crops have an elevated estrogen level (much higher than the soybean's already high levels). As we mentioned earlier, the synergistic effect of these estrogens - especially on children ingesting soy based formula is unknown, but in a recent study reported in Pediatrics raised a few eyebrows. "
Investigators found that one percent of all girls now show signs of puberty, such as breast development or pubic hair before the age of THREE; by age eight 14.7 percent of Caucasian girls and a whopping 48.3 percent of African-American girls had one or both of these characteristics" states Sally Fallon in the Price-Pottinger article on soy. (For a natural alternative to soy and milk based formula, see Nourishing Traditions, available through PPNF at 619-574-7763).
These higher estrogen levels have proven to increase amounts of fat produced in the milk of cows fed the altered altered and sprayed beans. Together with the use of rBGH, the elevated estrogen levels bring into question whether cows milk can really be called milk.
The European Union has fought desperately to keep genetically altered crops from entering Europe's food chain, but this June, both France and Ireland will be planting the first altered crops to be grown on European soil. In the United States, there are very few (if any) regulations placed on the biotechnology industry.
Soy and Protein Intake
Soybeans are not the basis of measurement for whether or not a vegetarian diet is supplying you with the protein and nutrients your body needs. In fact, a diet completely devoid of soy or meat products, but varied in vegetables and fruits, can supply your body with all the protein and nutrients it needs. The important factor in determining whether or not your soy-free, vegetarian diet is good enough for you is not careful food combining, it is calories. As long as you ar eating enough leafy greens, fruits and vegetables, your body will be supplied with everything it needs. This is why the Gerson Therapy, with its well-balanced, plant-based (soy-free) diet, rich in vitamins and enzymes, is able to effectively heal even the most difficult of ailments.
Gerson Institute Newsletter Volume 14 #4
1. Yuan JM et al. Diet and breast cancer in Shanghai and Yianjin. Br J Cancer 71:1353-1358 (1995).
2. Dees C et al. Dietary estrogens stimulate breast cells to enter the cell cycle. Eviron Health Perspect 105 (Suppl 3): 633-636 (1997).
3. Petrakis NL et al. Stimulatory influence of soy protein isolate on breast secretion in pre- and post-menopausal women. Cancer Epid Bio Prev 5: 785-794 (1996).
4. Assessment on phytoestrogens in the human diet. Institute for Environmental Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1997).
5. Adlecruetz H and Mazur W. Phytoestrogens and western diseases. Annals of Medicine 29: 95-120 (1997).
How the Soy Bean became good for you
Photo by flickr_10gAccording to GT, soy contains high indigestable fat/protein content, high sodium, toxic inhibitive for nutrient absorption thus absolutely forbidden in the GT diet.
It went contradictory to the general claim that Soy is good for you.
It is actively promoted by Singapore's Health Promotion board as a healthy food. It is even given a big tick on those soy milk cartons labels you find in the supermarket.
I did some digging on the internet on how soy became such a miracle food.
In 1999, the FDA (american food and drug adminstration) approved the health claim that soy protein may reduce cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. This claim was based New England Journal of Medicine publication report fromUniversity of Kentucky - 'Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Soy Protein Intake on Serum Lipids.'(NEJM Vol. 333, No. 5, 1995 August).
The report was financed by the PTI division of DuPont , The Solae Co. St. Louis, Missouri, a soy producer and marketer which submitted the petition to FDA for the health claim approval.
It is also widely known that Glycine Max is a genetically modified (GM) food and might have some health risk.
Disclaimer : According to most scientific studies, GM food are not harmful to humans (although most studies are usually directly/indirectly funded by corporate interest groups.)
References:
New England Journal of Medicine Vol. 333-276-282, No. 5, 1995 August
Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Soy Protein Intake on Serum Lipids
James W. Anderson, M.D., Bryan M. Johnstone, Ph.D., and Margaret E. Cook-Newell, M.S., R.D.
Food and Drug Administration
Food labeling: health claims; soy protein and coronary heart disease. , HHS. Final rule.
FDA Report
Investigation of genetically modified soybean biosafety in the center of the origin and diversity of Russian Far East
Gerson Therapy : Alternative Cancer Program
2 in 3 of the few people I know either have cancer or has a family member who has cancer or has a close family member who died from it. One of my very own family member has it. A very personal friend has died from it, another close friend is suffering from it.
Now I don't have that many friends, 2 out of 3 people i know is a LOT to handle!
I am CONCERNED!
People are dying from this growing number one killer. Can it be the food we eat, the environment, the pollution? What's going on here? Why are we getting cancer?
My country, Singapore is barely even coping with this dis-ease, our cancer centres are getting over-burdened by the increasing population suffering from it. The only legally recognised treatment is by bombing our bodies with radiation, pumping our bodies with radio-active material (Chemo-therapy) and cutting the bad bits out through surgery. How is that gonna help when the cure is even much dangerous than the dis-ease?
The family was looking for alternative therapy for one of my close family member who was diagnosed with it few months back. Somehow we were guided to Gerson Therapy, GT. It is not an easy program that requires a strict diet of organic produce, juicing throughout the day and eating only specific vegetables and no meats. I might share a little bit more on my experiences with GT in my future post.
I must stress that there are lotsa alternative treatments out there, so keep an open mind and find one that suits you.
It's a little draggy, and has a very annoying and distracting background music, and often a very long-winded and somewhat irritatingly horrible narration, bad editing and direction with some boring parts. Its an one hour half long movie, and with the slow connection on You-tube, it might be a little longer. So pardon the whole boring bits, get through it and you be rewarded.
It does give a little information about what the therapy is all about and how people are cured from it. Just another alternative treatment without poisoning our bodies with radio-active chemicals or surgery in order to cure ourselves.
You can buy the latest book by Charlotte Gerson (daughter of the founded, Max Gerson), "Healing, the Gerson Way, defeating cancer and other illness",it's released just this year.
Chapter 1 Gerson Miracle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW7TVs37tuo
Chapter 2 The Discovery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpqsfVd7In8
Chapter 3 The Gerson Institute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPtOCd7aV-8
Chapter 4 Poisoning Ourselves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MERT-F63CTI
Chapter 5 Detox, the Clinic, Patients
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgFKJrB3O2g
Chapter 6 Debbie and Stephanie, Patients
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlV5_hKtOhM
Chapter 7 Medication, and Organic Farming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nqS3nXknv4
Chapter 8 About our depleted food
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb2G9wMAoLg
Chapter 9 Lead and Poison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69tbAenq_UQ
Chapter 10 Various Cancer and Diseases
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj756Eu9ryw
Chapter 11 What Matters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ohavhSRmw
If you wanna download the entire movie and watch it off-line, you can access it here
http://www.gerson.org/videos/default.asp
