Michael Ducharme – Page 6 – Michael Ducharme

February 10, 2014January 2, 2021

Cacao, the Chocolate Fruit

Cacao –Food of the Gods

Cacao is among the most famous plants on Earth. Its name comes from the Greek, and means “food of the gods”. Cacao was used and cultivated by ancient Central American indigenous tribes such as the Mayas, Aztecs and Kunas as currency. Their abundant gold was used as a mere decoration as it could not be as valuable as that which produced health.

Modern scientists are re-discovering the many medicinal uses of antioxidant-rich cacao, including its ability to fight cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and depression, while stimulating cognitive function, improving memory and intelligence.

Cacao, and Natural Chocolate

Liquid Chocolate, made from the Cacao Fruit

Cacao is the most important component in the production of chocolate. While commercial chocolates often contain copious amounts of sugar, cow milk and other addictive and toxic substances, it is certainly possible to produce a high quality chocolate using only healthy ingredients like cacao, coconut, and a natural sweetener like stevia, honey or maple syrup.

Health Benefits of Cacao and Chocolate

A 2012 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “close, significant linear correlation between chocolate consumption per capita and the number of Nobel laureates”. (1)

Other recent studies have shown a positive effect on cholesterol, cough, weight loss, eczema, heart disease, high blood pressure and skin care.

In my wellness center, several female clients reported an absence of PMS symptoms following a chocolate therapy administered prior to the expected onset of the monthly symptoms. This chocolate therapy consisted of painting dark chocolate sauce on the patient from head to toe, allowing the skin to absorb the nutrients, as well as inhalation of the chocolate aroma, and a small amount of this same chocolate mixture was consumed.

Chocolate has long been considered an aphrodisiac and a mood-enhancer. Raw cacao stimulates the production of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, important neurotransmitters that block pain while creating pleasure and relaxation. Endorphins are our natural pain relievers; when pain suddenly disappears, a feeling of euphoria takes its place. Dopamine produces a feeling of joy with heightened focus and attention. Serotonin is our natural anti-depressant and it is important for relaxation and sleep. Each of these neurotransmitters are needed for good physical and mental health. Higher-than-normal levels of these neurotransmitters is likely to produce a feeling of intense pleasure and euphoria.

Interestingly, when forced to choose between chocolate and sex, 22 percent of women said they’d prefer chocolate. A survey of 2000 people found that alcohol, chocolate and sex were the three most difficult things to forgo. (2)

It is important to keep both sides of this coin in proper perspective. While decreasing pain and increasing both pleasure and relaxation are normally welcomed benefits, relying on any one nutrient to stimulate these natural functions can lead to addiction and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if consumption ceases. In other words, cacao may be considered a medicine, and it is important to regulate the dosage. An excess external stimulation may cause the body to under-produce on its own, which would explain the withdrawal symptoms.

The Chicago Sun Times reported that people who suffer extreme depression have an irregular production of phenylethylamine or PEA, an amphetamine that stimulates dopamine receptors and increases mental alertness, pulse, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. When we fall in love, our brain naturally releases phenylethlamine, producing so much pleasure that it can be addictive. The heartbroken may self-medicate by binging on chocolate since chocolate is high in phenylethylamine.

Theophylline is a stimulant of the heart and central nervous system, relaxes the bronchial smooth muscles, and may be effective in preventing and treating apnea in premature infancy.

Anandamide is an endocannabinoid. Endocannabinoids occur naturally in the brain, but are most concentrated in the cannabis plant, and to a much lesser extent in cacao.

The Raw Cacao Fruit

Pictured above is an entire cacao pod, which grows directly from the trunk of a tree in Central America.

The picture above shows the cacao pod sliced in half, revealing the seeds covered in a sweet gooey white gel.

Pictured above are the raw seeds covered in white slimy gel. This sweet gel may be the key to prevention of cancer and heart disease as it is consumed by the indigenous tribe that does not suffer either of these degenerative diseases. There are almost no studies on the consumption of the gel, most probably because developed countries normally only receive the processed cacao and have never had access to the fruit in its raw form.

Cacaotero Theobroma

The scientific name of the chocolate fruit is “Cacaotero Theobroma”. Its chemical composition includes a large number of vitamins, amino acids and other phyto-nutrients… over 300 compounds in all. The flavor components include polyphenols, aliphatic esters, unsaturated aromatic carbonyls, pyrazines, diketopiperazines, and theobromine.

Per 100 grams, the seed contains 456 calories, 3.6 grams of water, 12.0 grams of protein, 46.3 grams of fat, 34.7 grams of total carbohydrate, 8.6 grams of fiber, 106 mg of calcium, 537 mg phosphorus, 3.6 mg iron, 30 mg beta-carotene, 0.17 mg of thiamine (Vitamin B1), 0.14 mg riboflavin (Vitamin B2), 1.7 mg niacin (Vitamin B3), and 3 mg ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).

Wealth of India reported that the edible pulp of the fruit contains 79.7–88.5% water, 0.5–0.7% albuminoids, astringents, etc.; 8.3–13.1% glucose, 0.4–0.9% sucrose, a trace of starch, 0.2–0.4% non-volatile acids (as tartaric), 0.03% Fe₂O₃ and 0.4% mineral salts (K, Na, Ca, Mg).

Raw seeds contain 0.24 mg/100 g thiamine, 0.41 riboflavin, 0.09 pyridoxine, 2.1 nicotinamide, and 1.35 pantothenic acid.

Cocoa also contains about 18% proteins, fats (cocoa butter), amines and alkaloids including theobromine (0.5 to 2.7%), caffeine (ca 0.25% in cocoa; 0.7 to 1.70 in fat-free beans, with forasteros containing less than 0.1% and criollos containing 1.43 to 1.70%), tyramine, dopamine, salsolinol, trigonelline, nicotinic acid, and free amino acids; tannins; phospholipids; and more.

The seeds, leaves and roots contain alkaloids theobromine and caffeine which has diuretic and vasodilator. Antitumor activity was found in the root and bark. The seeds contain fat (cocoa butter) are used in pharmacy as an emollient and for making ointments and creams. It is helpful in treating dry skin, burns, dandruff, dysentery, measles, and even snakebites, according to folk healers. Overall, cocoa is slightly tonic and stimulant, although in large doses or in sensitive individuals, can cause insomnia and tachycardia. (5)

Cacao and Caffeine

To compare the amount of caffeine in a 6 oz cup of various beverages, I rely on information from Tyler and Palotti (6,7).

Expresso coffee: 310 mg
Boiled coffee: 100 mg
Instant coffee: 65mg
Hierba mate: 25–50 mg
Tea: 10–50 mg
Cola: 25 mg
Coca cola: 20 mg
Cocoa (cacao): 13 mg
Pepsi cola: 10 mg

References

Chocolate Consumption, Cognitive Function, and Nobel Laureates, Franz H. Messerli, The New England Journal of Medicine, October 18, 2012.
Cancer Research UK, survey of 2000 people
The Chicago Sun Times
Wealth of India
Maria Candelaria, 102-year-old herbalist
Tyler 1982
Palotti 1977

February 8, 2014January 18, 2022

Thank you, and Good-bye to Doctor David John Carmos

Today we say good-bye to a remarkable man, a talented healer and a wise teacher. Doctor David John Carmos had devoted a great part of his life to studying and teaching the healing ways of Jesus and the Essenes, an ancient mystical Jewish sect that is most famous for having written The Dead Sea Scrolls.

According to historians, the Essenes may have lived about three times longer than their contemporaries, owing to their clean, vegetarian, disciplined and loving lifestyle. The Essenes were known to adopt abandoned children and care for them greatly. Doctor David became a Bishop of the Essene order.

While returning from a mission in Brazil, he was wrongly imprisoned in Mexico. While serving his ten-year sentence, David performed more than 18,000 treatments… word had traveled throughout Mexico and people in need of healing would line up outside the penitentiary. In his spare time, David penned 12 of his 15 books.

I recently had the good fortune to meet one of David’s students and closest friends, Dr. Shawn C. Miller, who is himself remarkable, disciplined and wise. I am especially thankful to Dr. Miller for gifting me with the book The Essene Master: Gospel of Healing, which was the first book published following David’s release from prison. The book, masterfully written in meter and rhyme, is divided in nine parts.

The following is an excerpt from part one of The Essene Master:

The Spirit of God is seen in the Path of every way,
in the falling of the rain, in the sprouting of a seed,
in the snowflake, in the wave,
and in the breaking of the day.

The Spirit in its various forms
is felt in the light of the full moon,
in the glow of the evening stars,
in the fog of the clouds,
in the cool warm of the sunset,
and in the dampness that makes the dew wet,
in the color of a flower,
in the wave crest’s awesome power,

in the ability of wild oats themselves to sew,
in the magic of a mustard seed, within itself to grow,
within a flock of sheep,
the knowledge of a ewe its young to know,

in the softness of a springtime breeze,
in the society of a hive of bees,
in the intricacy of a spider’s web,
in the recession of a tide at the new moons ebb,
in the river rapids constant flow,
in the presence that makes a toothless baby’s smile glow,
in the thunder and lightning of the first storm of spring,
and in the voice of the nightingale when it sings.

I am grateful to David for his wise words and the beautiful example that was his life on Earth. I will leave you with the following excerpt from part four of The Essene Master, as it is especially appropriate in saying goodbye to a beloved friend:

Life is our opportunity to experience and
to grow according to a certain plan
and when we have exhausted this earthly shell,
then we complete another life’s span.

Then enters death, which in reality
is no enemy of man,
but another opportunity
to in other ways grow and expand.

Death is but the knife which cuts the cord
that anchors the human ship to Earth,
that it might sail the oceans of the spirit world,
until it finds a new port, to experience another birth.

When a soul and body go their separate ways,
which is a time of growth and rest,
then the spirit enters on another phase;
somewhat like leaving an old cow loose in a field,
to stand in the warmth of the sun and graze.

The calls of death are always for the best,
for we are solving further dilemmas there,
as well as continuing on our spiritual quest.

February 4, 2014February 5, 2014

Veronica Saunders

Veronica Saunders is the author of rawandsexy.com. She is a passionate advocate for the raw food movement as she believes in the healing power of clean, organic food.

Veronica switched to a raw vegan diet nearly a decade ago. She specialises in gourmet cuisine, and is able to create a raw vegan version of nearly any ethnic speciality from any culture on Earth. Some of Veronica’s favorites include arabic, italian, greek, german and asian food. Here are just a few of her gorgeous creations:

Raw kiwi dessert prepared by Veronica Saunders

Raw smoothie prepared by Veronica Saunders

Raw pumpkin soup prepared by Veronica Saunders

Raw lasagna prepared by Veronica Saunders

Raw martini prepared by Veronica Saunders

Raw sandwich prepared by Veronica Saunders

I recently met up with Veronica in Los Angeles during the Raw Living Expo.

Veronica Saunders and Michael Ducharme in Los Angeles Airport — Veronica Saunders and Michael Ducharme in Los Angeles

Veronica is a former model, having graced the covers of several national magazines. She currently provides raw food catering services as well as food and fashion photography.

Veronica occasionally shares her recipes via youtube. Take a look at the following page, where she shares her recipe for raw banana crepes stuffed with strawberries and blueberries and sweet sauce.

January 29, 2014February 12, 2018

Placebo vs. Migraine Medication

The placebo effect is the nemesis of the pharmaceutical industry because, simply put, their drugs are often no more effective than a fake pill labeled as a “magic substance”. This is truly remarkable, because it means that a patient’s condition can greatly improve with positive thinking. It is the patient’s expectation that turns distilled water, salt or sugar into a “magic cure”.

The scientific study of the placebo effect was pioneered in 1955 by the anesthesiologist Henry K. Beecher (1904-1976). Beecher analyzed 26 studies and concluded that an average of 32% of patients responded to placebo

Placebo accounts for more than 50% of the drug effect

A recent study conducted the Department of Neurology of Harvard Medical School, proved once again, not only that the placebo effect is powerful and real, but that it increased substantially based on increased patient expectation. The scientists followed 60 migraineurs and randomly gave them 10mg of rizatriptan (brand name: maxalt) or a fake pill for each of their migraine attacks. The scientists played around with the labeling to find out which positive responses could be attributed to the drug itself and which responses were caused by the patient’s belief.

Relative to no treatment, the placebo, under each information condition, accounted for more than 50% of the drug effect. Increasing “positive” information incrementally boosted the efficacy of both placebo and medication during migraine attacks. The benefits of placebo persisted even if placebo was honestly described. Whether treatment involves medication or placebo, the information provided to patients and the ritual of pill taking are important components of care.

I agree wholeheartedly with the study’s authors that “information provided to patients” is an important component of care, but I disagree that “the ritual of pill taking” is a necessary one. More often than not, it is the patient’s positive thinking that initiates the healing. Both healing and positive thinking were around prior to the invention of pills, so I cannot concede that the pill is required for healing in all cases. While some drugs are life-saving under the right (rare) circumstances, it seems to me that it would be wise for doctors to exploit the placebo effect to its fullest potential prior to even attempting a (real) drug that has harmful side effects.

Real drugs have real side effects

The main difference between taking a real drug as compared to a fake drug is with regard to the harmful unwanted side effects. One of the most common side effects of triptans (the most commonly-prescribed drugs for migraines) is that they actually cause migraines to increase in frequency and severity. In fact, the term M.O.H. (Medication Overuse Headaches) was coined to deal with this issue. Using a fake pill, or even a glass of water with some (non-existent) magic powder dissolved in it as a placebo, can never produce the terrible condition called M.O.H.

The best natural cure

The best natural cures for nearly any medical condition will involve positive thinking as part of a healthy lifestyle. For information on healing migraines without any pills (real or fake), please see my articles: The Lotus Lifestyle and Help for Migraines and Headaches. Hint: you need only natural things like sunshine, clean food, and the right kind of exercise for getting and staying wiggly.

References

Altered placebo and drug labeling changes the outcome of episodic migraine attacks. Kam-Hansen S, et al. Science Translational Medicine. 2014 Jan 8.
The Powerful Placebo, Beecher, 1955.

January 29, 2014February 11, 2014

Raw Tomato Beet Carrot SoupSopa Cruda de Tomate, Remolacha y Zanahoria

This recipe takes less than five minutes to make, and it’s nutritious and delicious:

Ingredients:

lots of love
three roma tomatoes
one small beet
one medium carrot
three juicy lemons or limes
fresh basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary
one clove of garlic
optional: a cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Wash and chop everything. Juice the limes. Toss all ingredients into a high power blender and blend for 90 seconds for warm delicious soup. You can draw a heart in the soup before serving it if you desire.

Esta receta toma menos de cinco minutos para hacer, y es nutritivo y delicioso:

Ingredientes:

mucho amor
tres tomates peritas
una pequeña remolacha
una zanahoria promedia
tres limones o limas jugosas
albahaca, orégano, tomillo y romero fresco
un diente de ajo
opcional: una pimienta cayena

Instrucciones:

Lavar y picar todo. Exprime el jugo de las limas o limones. Mezcle todos los ingredientes en una licuadora de alta potencia y licuar durante 90 segundos para una deliciosa sopa calida. Puedes dibujar un corazoncito en la sopa antes de servirla si deseas.

January 29, 2014February 18, 2014

The 80/10/10 Diet – Dr. Douglas Graham

I wholeheartedly agree with the great majority of this book. I recommend buying it or borrowing it from your local library, as it is filled with valuable information, studies and anecdotes from real people that have achieved extraordinary results by eating a diet of mostly fruit. I consider it to be among the best health books on the market.

Here are just a few selected quotes:

Will eating raw make me healthy?

A proper raw diet will result in improved health, but I must emphasize that the body, not food, creates health. Food does not build; the body builds. Food does not cleanse; the body cleanses. Good health, after all, is the result of a healthy lifestyle.

The raw diet is but one component of healthful living. Adequate rest and sleep, regular, vigorous physical activity, plenty of fresh air, sunlight, a positive outlook on life, and many other factors are also essential to creating good health. (Page 239.)

“We propose that there is only one illness: toxemia, this is a condition of unclean blood and tissues, caused primarily by unchecked diet and lifestyle. Unchecked, toxemia and its attendant enervation (nervous exhaustion) get progressively worse over the years, leading to all manner of symptoms.” (Page 257.)

On Weight Loss

Dr. Graham tackles the popular issue of weight loss. When people switch to a diet that is exclusively raw, “the first dramatic change that people frequently notice is a rapid and dramatic loss of weight”. Since most Westerners are indeed overweight to begin with, most people are delighted with the change. Other folks see themselves getting too thin, and sometimes even mistakenly believe they are losing muscle.

“what actually happens…is that we lose so much of the padding (fat) around our muscles and also the fat marbled within our muscles. In addition, on a raw diet, we begin to lose the water that we once retained to dilute toxins. This water also added to the appearance of inflated muscles. Many people mistake this excess fat and water as part of their muscle.”

“No diet exists that results in muscle loss or muscle gain. If there were a diet that resulted in muscle gain, bodybuilders would be found in the kitchen instead of the gym. .. In spite of what we have all been told, consuming protein (or any other nutrient) will not assist the muscle-building process.” (page 148)

On page 156, Dr. Graham states that digestive, absorptive, or assimilative problems could contribute to unwanted weight loss in new raw fooders, yet he believes these to be the exception rather than the rule, and that these problems will quickly correct themselves when the person switches away from high-fat, cooked, processed and toxic foods unsuitable to our physiological design are moved from the diet. I can not argue with Graham’s extensive clinical experience, but I believe that digestive, absorptive, and assimilative problems are extremely common (although widely under-diagnosed) due to the cooking of food and the consumption of animal products.

If Dr. Graham mentions fasting in this book, then I missed it. It is understandable that Dr. Graham would not discuss fasting in a book on the opposite of fasting, eating. One of the main outcomes of a water fast is the elimination of intestinal plaque, which blocks the proper absorption of nutrients in the small intestine. Here is a video of Dr. Graham speaking on fasting to recover health:

(Dr. Graham discusses the benefits of fasting after 13 minutes.)

January 26, 2014January 26, 2014

How to Practice Mindful Eating and Become a Conscious Consumer

http://youtu.be/qc-CrINmNbw

Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram is always a fountain of inspiration and encouragement for living a healthy lifestyle that features raw fruits and veggies. In this heartwarming video, Kristina shares her tips on becoming more conscious of everything that surrounds the your mealtime. She reminds us that the things we put into our body will be used to produce an entirely new body (in which nearly every cell is re-built) twice yearly!

Kristina’s first tip for conscious eating is consistent with my #1 for life in general: do it with love. Kristina says “Love your food so that it loves you back.”

Her second tip “meditate while eating” corresponds with my advice to meditate always, since meditation is really a synonym for observation. By observing every color, taste, texture and every other aspect of each bite more profoundly, we can enjoy our food more and reap more health benefits as compared to eating the same food with an agitated, superficial mind.

Finally, she advises us to become a conscious consumer. Kristina and I are in total agreement here, that we vote with our money… so we ought to invest wisely to support our health and a sustainable planet.

January 24, 2014February 12, 2018

Headache and Migraines up 193% due to Economic Recession

According to a study published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine(1), headache symptoms, including migraines, were up 193 percent between 2009 and 2011. The study, conducted by Benjamin M. Althouse and others, compared the number of Google searches done pre- and post-recession and found an increase of 1.52 million queries for headache-related terms at the end of the recession, compared with the beginning. The number of queries had declined steadily in the three years prior to the recession (2006-2009).

Using Google searches to estimate the total number of headache and migraine sufferers is not an ideal method, as there is no guarantee that every headache and migraine sufferer will check with Google. But headaches and migraines are conditions that are both under-diagnosed by doctors, as many patients self-medicate with over-the-counter medications or simply wait for the symptoms to pass. Patients may neglect to mention these symptoms during a later visit to the doctor when the patient is feeling better. Considering this, the Google trend does seem to give a valuable insight into the overall trend. Plus, Google search results are much more readily available and less expensive to analyse than the old methods of conducting surveys and counting visits to hospitals and clinics.

As you can see from the graphs below, the trend for both headache symptoms including migraine (bottom graph) and ulcer symptoms (top graph) shows a clear and dramatic increase during the years hardest hit by the recession.

Headache Migraine and Ulcer Trend 2006-2011 — Headache/Migraine and Ulcer Trend 2006-2011

Althouse and his colleagues looked at the searches related to 383 medical conditions. The report, which was blocked from publication until just this month, gives greater details on the 100 conditions that increased most substantially during the recession. Ulcers and headaches were the two conditions with the greatest increase, 228% and 193% respectively.

How is (Economic) Stress Related to Headaches and Migraines

Money certainly doesn’t buy happiness or health. Some folks live in abject poverty and manage to sidestep ulcers and headaches, while many of the world’s wealthiest indeed suffer both of these conditions regularly.

But for some people, economic stress seems to put them on a downward spiral that starts with negative emotions, followed by declining lifestyle habits (especially diet and exercise). Dr. John W. Ayers, a research professor at San Diego State University, said “by the end of the great recession in 2011, queries were still substantially higher than before the recession… People were not getting better with the economy. People were potentially much sicker.” (2) If lack of money could directly cause ulcers, headaches and migraines, then these conditions should have improved notably at the end of the great recession. This study clearly shows that economic stress is but one contributor to these and many other conditions.

Health problems most often result from an accumulation of stress and toxins. If you have lived in a toxic environment, or have eaten a toxic diet for a number of years, then you can expect that you have accumulated toxins in your body. Moving to a less toxic area and choosing less toxic food will certainly help you avoid worsening the accumulation, but this will not necessarily mean that the prior accumulation will disappear.

Similarly, stressful situations such as an economic recession may elicit an unhealthy physical/mental response in some people, leading to accumulated physical/mental tension. When the stressful situation passes, this does not automatically mean that the accumulated tension will dissipate. Unless one takes a specific action to eliminate the accumulated toxins and physical/mental tension, then the symptoms are likely to persist beyond the removal of the external causal factor.

How to Stay Healthy and Avoid Headaches and Migraines, Even During Stressful Times

My wellness-generating Lotus Lifestyle contains all of the essential lifestyle elements for getting and staying healthy. The 9-point system includes a proper diet, the right kind of exercise, and seven other key points. Following my system costs nothing, and will give you the best chance at eliminating and avoiding stress-and-lifestyle-related symptoms.

It is certainly wise to avoid whichever toxins and stressful situations that we reasonably can. But we must recognise that some toxins and some stressful situations are impossible to avoid, therefore we must adopt a healthy attitude and select a healthful response to such situations.

Whenever there is an uncomfortable situation, such as getting robbed, yelled at, accused, attacked, or when dealing with economic problems such as filing taxes, paying bills or getting fired, it is easy to become so absorbed in emotion that one fails to observe the physical consequence: often a tightening of certain muscles and of the myofascial tissues. Over time, our bodies adjust (unhealthily) to the repetitive stress. This results in a cumulative loss of “wiggliness”, which upsets the normal energy flow that is required to keep all of our systems functioning healthfully.

The healthy response to stressful situations is to continue observing one’s inner (physical/mental) state while also taking care of the external situation. If one is forced to react to the external situation immediately, as in the life-threatening situation of being attacked, then look inside as soon as the danger passes. When we look “inside” we can often notice that our heart rate has increased, our breath has become more shallow and some muscles have become tighter. We should remind ourselves to breathe deeply and slowly, and this will directly cause a normalisation of the heart rate and will leave us feeling much better overall. The tightening of the muscles must also be released, since tight muscles leads to a lack of wiggliness. And when we lose our wiggliness, conditions like headaches and anxiety “suddenly” appear.

If the anxious person fails to take the appropriate steps of breathing deeply and getting wiggly, he may instead seek instant gratification with a mad dash to the fridge or an urgent stop at a fast food restaurant for some . The anxious person is not thinking about long term health, which would involve selecting proper foods and lovingly preparing them without adding harmful chemicals. The anxious person is looking to stuff his face and his belly right this moment to divert his attention from the anxiety itself or from the stressful situation he is facing.

Sadly, it seems the world fully caters to the anxious customer… 24-hour drive-throughs and supermarkets provide so many choices, almost none of which are free of toxins, and almost all of which cause acidity. Stomach acidity directly causes ulcers and indirectly leads to a host of other physical and mental symptoms including anxiety and headaches.

Eating healthy food is the best way to avoid ingesting harmful chemicals. But even if you select the very healthiest option, an organic raw vegan diet (recipes here), that doesn’t mean that you will never take in any toxin. There are plenty of toxins that will find their way into your body without your having eaten them, such as from the air that we breathe. So we still need to consider a regular detox regimen such as the daily use of a sauna, or perhaps a yearly (supervised) water fast.

References

American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Benjamin M. Althouse et al. 2014. View report.
New York Times. January 8, 2014. Hard Times and Headaches. Nicholas Bakalar.

January 22, 2014January 23, 2014

Kristina’s Raw Coffee Alternative

http://youtu.be/YSFy-WfzVs0

FullyRaw Kristina shares this extremely helpful recipe for those coffee lovers that are looking to cut out the caffeine to enjoy a more balanced energy level without the crashes or “lows”. Be aware that serious addicts will likely experience some withdrawal or detox symptoms such as headache and/or lethargy. But you will definitely recover, and you will feel lighter, fresher, and more liberated.

Tools needed:

Breville juicer
Vitamix or Blendtec blender
Coffee cup(s)

Ingredients:

1-2 cups of coconut water
5-10 pitted dates
¼ cup carob powder
a few fresh peppermint leaves
a small vanilla bean or a few drops of vanilla extract (without alcohol)
a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg
2 tablespoons of raw cacao
fresh almond milk (make your own with the following instructions)

Almond milk creamer:

Run 1 ½ cups of soaked raw almonds through a slow juicer (or blend with a Vitamix and strain with an almond milk bag). Run through juicer with water or if you want it to be sweeter, use coconut water instead.

January 22, 2014January 22, 2014

Kristina’s Raw Banana Ice Cream Split

http://youtu.be/agfe3Vu25rk

You may already know how to make delicious vanilla ice cream using only frozen bananas and a few drops of vanilla. But here, Kristina raises the banana with a magnificent arrangement of three ice cream flavors, topped with gooey delicious fruit sauce and fresh cherries.

Ingredients:

5-10 ripe bananas, frozen overnight
One perfect banana for your banana split
the water of one young coconut
1 – 1 ½ fresh pitted dates
½ cup of sliced pitted cherries and 3 perfect cherries to put on top
1 cup sliced mango
1 cup blackberries
1 cup raspberries
¼ cup Carob powder
Toppings:
- ¼ diced mango bits and ¼ blended
- ¼ chopped raspberries and ¼ blended
- ¼ finely chopped blackberries and ¼ blended

Tools needed:

Vitamix or Blendtec blender
plate
ice-cream scoop
spatula

Instructions:

Blend the ice cream ingredients together as shown in the video, then blend the topping ingredients and pour over the ice cream. Sprinkle with more toppings!