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None of the body’s systems of elimination is less generally recognized or more important than your lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system is not only a major route for the absorption of nutrients and an important carrier of immune cells, it is also your body’s metabolic waste-disposal system. So essential are the waste-eliminating functions of the lymphatic system that without them you would die within 24 hours. Your lymphatics are a highly organized and elaborate system of ducts and channels which flow all over your body. The opalescent liquid carries wastes and toxic products from these minute channels into larger lymphatic vessels, and on through the lymph nodes, which are located in the groin and under the arm and the neck. After being purified by the lymph nodes, the fluid is returned to the blood. In this way the lymphatic system works ceaselessly to clear toxicity. In many ways the lymph system resembles the blood system. Except in one major respect. Whereas the blood system is powered by the action of the heart, the lymphatic system has no such prime mover. Instead it is almost entirely dependent upon gravity and the natural pressure of muscles when you move your body. These muscle contractions and body movements keep the lymph flowing. For good lymphatic functioning – to keep your body free of the build up of wastes and toxicity – you need to move your muscles vigorously and often. That is why regular brisk exercise, such as taking long walks, is so important not only to firm your muscles and strengthen your heart and lungs, but also to encourage the steady and effective elimination of wastes from your cells and tissues. If you tend to be sedentary and live on the average Western fare high in fat, protein and processed foods, your lymph system will tend to function poorly and permit the build up of toxic waste products. This can result in so many problems for good looks that it would be difficult to list them all – water retention, stiff muscles and joints, cellulite, premature aging, poor skin tone, even degenerative illness. lymphatic help A particularly pleasant way of helping lymphatic drainage during a two-day apple fast is to lie with your feet higher than your head for a few minutes a couple of times each day. Raise the bottom of your bed a foot off the floor or lie in a hammock with your feet high for a few minutes a couple of times a day. Lying with your feet higher than your head reverses the flow of lymph temporarily, and helps improve lymphatic drainage.

I’m stunned by the extremes to which a pharmaceutical company will go when attempting to get FDA approval for some new drug. Take a look at the latest offering from privately-held Sprout Pharmaceuticals, who claim they now have a “female Viagra.” Yes, really. It is called Addyi. This drug is potentially dangerous, with some frightening side effects. They include an increased risk of syncope—temporary loss of consciousness—as well as severe low blood sugar, insomnia, dry mouth, fatigue, dizziness, sedation, and anxiety. Manufacturers warn if you decide to use it, not to drink alcohol. I wouldn’t touch Addyi with a ten foot pole. a failed antidepressant Addyi is actually Flibanserin—a failed antidepressant. Unlike Viagra, which is designed to bring more blood flow to male genitals if a man chooses to use it temporarily, Addyi is supposed to be used every day—long-term by women. It claims to enhance a woman’s sexual impulses by targeting, not your genitals but your brain. Flibanserin is similar to other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac. Ironically these drugs are notorious not for increasing libido, but for blunting it. Some time ago, Big Pharma invented a whole new “illness” known as Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, defined as “persistently or recurrently deficient (or absent) sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity.” Addyi is supposed to treat this. a mediocre aphrodisiac with scary side-effects Originally developed by family-owned Boehringer Ingelheim in Germany Flibanserin, after lengthy trails was judged to be ineffective as an antidepressant. Boehringer had submitted this drug to the FDA for approval in 2011. It was refused. Out of 1300 women who took part in trials, 15% dropped out due to unpleasant side effects. The FDA rejected the appeal, saying that whatever the drugs drug’s minor benefits might be they could not justify its nasty side effects. So Boehringer sold their invention to Sprout Pharmaceuticals in 2011. Who tried their luck with the FDA in 2013 and also got nowhere. However, Sprout’s persistence, massive lobbying and and financial investments amassed more than 60,000 supporting signatures so finally won FDA’s approval for the drug in August of 2015. This FDA approval stands next to many other applications which have won FDA approval in the past, showing that, when companies spend enough money, they can, in effect, force the FDA to approve many useless or dangerous drugs. Adriane Fugh-Berman MD, Pharmacology Professor at Georgetown University, describes Addyi as "a mediocre aphrodisiac with scary side-effects.” She adds, “The only thing that’s different is a clever, aggressive public relations campaign that Sprout Pharmaceuticals waged successfully.” FDA - a medical Gestapo Meanwhile, the outspoken Dr Mark Sircus makes his own assessment of the situation, which is well worth listening to. Sircus says, “Most doctors and medical associations just do not get that women are different from men sexually. They do not have genitals that function independent of their hearts and minds. The feminine principle is pretty much dead in modern civilization and especially at the FDA, which runs like the SS, a medical Gestapo. The FDA again proves what type of organization it is exposing women in America to the dangers and horrors of pharmaceutical drugs. They are the most unnatural organization in the world poisoning people instead of helping.” Need I say more? If you want to learn about safe natural aphrodisiacs that not only work but are a delight to use, I’ll be covering some of my favorites on our next two videocasts. Look forward to seeing you then.

The next time you have a chance, watch an animal move. The rhythmic lope of a wolf whose body almost becomes the motion. The horse in a field, tossing its mane, pounding its hooves and charging about for sheer pleasure. The dolphin who leaps high in the air twisting its powerful body before disappearing into the waves to emerge a minute later with yet another joyous leap. For many years I wondered why most of us after childhood no longer experience this kind of explosive, rhythmical freedom and energy, grounded in the physical body. Why do we often feel only half alive? And why do those of us who are women tend to look upon our body as something separate from ourselves, something to be criticized, judged, or pushed and shoved into shape, instead of celebrating its power and the joy of movement the way animals do? For too many human beings the primary experience of life is one of deadness. And since none of us is able to live with deadness for long we are forced to seek artificial stimulus through drugs or alcohol, compulsive work or sex - just to make us feel alive again. The trouble is, none of the artificial things that we turn to in an attempt to recover our aliveness ever seems to work for very long. Where does the real key lie? MUSCLE MIRACLE The answer to this question may surprise you. It stunned me when I first came upon it because it is so simple. The key to aliveness is found in the body itself. It lies in the same place as the key to burning excess fat is - in muscle. Your muscle is the engine that turns food calories into energy, burns fat and creates an experience of ongoing simple joy whatever you may be doing. Muscle creates the life-energy for you to think, to move and to feel. The power of the horse, the rhythmical gait of the wolf able to run on and on with ease, the wild playfulness of the dolphin - all depend on good strong muscle. To create a firm, beautiful, lean body for yourself, begin to listen to, nurture and develop your muscle. Your body is a potential powerhouse of vitality. If you want to access it, you need to move. People sometimes talk about the body as if it were a machine. In reality your body is nothing like a machine. A machine, when you use it, wears out. Your body was designed to be active. The more you use it wisely the stronger and more beautiful it will become - regardless of your age. I learned all this the hard way—the best way too I guess—but it wasn’t fun. ENDLESS PAIN Several years ago I injured my left leg badly from a nasty fall while walking down a steep incline to board a plane in Munich. The thing was running with water. Amidst a lot of blood and mess I had no idea just how bad the injury was until I found I was in constant pain and could hardly walk for weeks. This injury was followed by another nasty one to my right ankle, then another a few months later when I cracked my sacrum at 5am in the middle of winter getting out of a spa when I tumbled back onto a hardwood deck. Anyway all of this meant that I stopped using my body. In fact my body became for me a source of pain and fear, not pleasure and joy. Where I had once done exercise regularly for the sheer joy of it, I stopped completely—not just for months at a time—for years. I forgot what it was like to experience the joy and feel the sense of radiance I had long been used to from movement I had for thirty years adored doing. I lost a lot of muscle tone and ease of movement and I no longer felt the kind of vitality I had been used to for many many years. LIFE REBORN Then one day, for no apparent reason, I woke from my ignorant stupor and began to move a little just to find out if my body was still alive: to dance to music, to stretch, to cycle on a wind trainer in the garden, allowing my body to feel the sensuous pleasure of swimming gently in our pool or spending 10 or 15 minutes in passive relaxation on our PowerPlate. Slowly, steadily I began to come alive again. I kept asking myself, “How could I have forgotten how simple and joyous moving my body could be, and all of the rewards it brings when one begins to exercise, not because it’s supposed to be good for you - out of some kind of duty - but because you owe it to your body to let it live?” Anyway, I wanted to share my own experience with you and here is the bottom line: No matter what your age or how much you have neglected moving your body, no matter how much tone your muscles may have lost, your body has the most amazing capacity to regenerate and restore its muscles, its vitality and its capacity to provide you with the joyous experience of freedom which is everyone’s birthright. You need only to remember what is possible and begin with kindness and love to let yourself move again.

By now you will have grasped the principles of meal spacing. It’s time to get specific about putting it all in into practice. TWO MEALS A DAY Put behind you that old adage that you must eat a good breakfast to keep you going through the day. This is untrue. It never has been true, despite all we’ve been taught. The word breakfast literally means the meal at which you “break-a-fast.” That is just what you will be doing on meal spacing—breaking a fast of 12 or more hours after eating dinner the night before. The timings of your two meals each day will need to take into account what your days are like. Is it an easy thing for you to prepare your first meal at home—say between 11am and 1pm? Or do you work away from home all day? If so, does your job require you to eat in restaurants frequently? On days when you don’t, can you make your first meal before leaving for work—say, a salad complete with good quality protein which you can take to work with you, or maybe a delicious smoothie you can carry in a thermos? The rule of thumb for success with meal spacing is to allow 5 to 6 hours or more between your first and second meal of the day. Longer food-free periods are fine too. If you can schedule your second meal in the early evening—say 6 or 7pm, this is ideal. If, on the other hand, you don’t get home until later in the evening or you have been invited out for the evening, then the period between meal one and meal two is likely to be longer than 6 hours. That is fine too. EAT STOP FAST It is essential that, as soon as you finish a meal, you stop eating. And, just in case you have a habit of munching through a couple of biscuits or a bowl of chocolate ice cream between dinner and bedtime, now is the time to break this habit. It’s important to have ended your eating for the day at least 3 hours before you climb into bed. You need an absolute minimum of food-free 12 hours during the night before eating the first meal of the next day. How you plan your eating and fasting periods depends on you. Your timings may change a bit from day to day depending on what is happening in your life. That’s OK. Just don’t forget that, to become lean and healthy and stay that way, and to protect yourself from early aging and degenerative conditions, your body needs extended food-free periods day after day. And the longest and most important is at night, while you sleep. START GENTLY Many people are afraid they will not be able to make it from one meal to the next when they are just beginning to explore what condensed eating can do for them. I recommend when you are just learning the practice of meal spacing that you feel free to eat a snack or two between meal one and meal two if you feel you need to. That being said, the sooner you come to adopt fully this food style and make it your very own, the better. I predict that it won’t take long before you will have no trouble remaining food-free between meals. SNACK SUGGESTIONS Half an avocado with 2 oz (50 g) of Cheddar cheese A no-sugar smoothie made with Vital Whey, sweetened with English Toffee Stevia if you like 1 cup of sliced cucumbers with vinaigrette dressing made with extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with 1/4 cup raspberries 4oz (100g) plain cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s yogurt with half a grated apple sweetened with stevia and sprinkled with cinnamon. TAKE YOUR TIME Your body will need some time to adapt itself to this kind of eating—sometimes only a few days and other times two or three weeks. Just be patient and stick with it. Have your healthy snacks between meal one and meal two until you sense that you no longer need them. But right from the beginning, make a commitment to yourself to end completely the convenience carb foods that undermine health, provoke weight gain and predispose all of us to sluggishness and depression. Eat as many of the good fats as you like while eliminating sugars and the carbs that turn into sugar when people eat them. What are good fats? Coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil and butter from grass-fed cows. These can strengthen your body, bring you energy you can rely on, and will never make you fat so long as you avoid the life-force draining carbohydrates which still make up the bulk of most people’s meals. These include breads, pastas, potatoes, bagels, cookies, chips, cakes and the rest. Meanwhile, eat lots of good fats If truth be told, we humans have little need for carbs. When our bodies are fed quality proteins, the good fats, green vegetables and low-sugar fruits, their bodies will quite naturally derive any glucose that they need from these foods. (For more information about this see my book Healthy And Lean For Life, which you can download for free on the homepage of curaromana.com.) By the way, if while your body is adapting to your condensed eating program, you experience light headedness, muscle cramp, fatigue, or grumpiness along the way, make sure you increase the amount of sea salt or Himalayan salt (not ordinary table salt please) that you are using on your foods. LESLIE’S RECIPES Let me now share with you some of my own favorite recipes that are good for any meal spacing program. I hope you enjoy them. When it comes to radiant wellbeing, nothing carries the power of fresh raw foods. Not only are they higher in essential nutrients than their cooked counterparts, the quality of the phytochemicals they contain is the best in the world. Contrary to what a lot of people think, raw fruits and vegetables are easy to digest. Each fruit or vegetable carries within it the exact enzymes necessary for us to digest it fully and efficiently. Bircher Muesli serves 1 This recipe, which is great for either of your meals, calls for an apple. But you can use almost any fruit. Berries work very well. The recipe serves one, but can just as easily be made for twelve. This particular form of muesli is dairy-free. If you prefer to use dairy products, try plain unsweetened cow’s yoghurt, or sheep or goat’s yoghurt if you have a problem with cow’s milk. What You Need 2 tablespoons grated fresh coconut (if you are buying coconut commercially, make sure it contains no sugar) handful of raisins, soaked overnight 1 apple, grated or chopped juice of ½ lemon 3 tablespoons coconut milk or sheep or goat’s yoghurt ¼ teaspoon powdered cinnamon or grated fresh ginger Here’s How Mix together the coconut and raisins and combine this mixture with berries or a grated or chopped apple, lemon juice and the coconut milk or yoghurt. Sprinkle with cinnamon or ginger. Serve immediately. Vanilla Nutmeg Smoothie Serves 1 This meal-in-an-instant is surprisingly filling and the vanilla makes it a warming drink, despite being made with ice! You can make the smoothie with or without the egg. If you do use the egg, make sure it is free-range and organic. Use only the best whey (see recommendations below). Most of what you find out there is junk. Don’t touch it. What You Need 6 ice cubes 200ml clean water 1-2 scoops natural or vanilla-flavored micro-filtered whey protein (see resources) 1 free range, organic egg 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (the real thing, no sugar, preferably organic) a pinch of grated nutmeg stevia to taste Here’s How Put all the ingredients into a blender, but blend for no more than 20 seconds as this can change the nature of the whey protein. Sprinkle a little extra grated nutmeg on top and serve immediately. If you like, you can add 1 tablespoon of flaxseeds to this smoothie for a fiber boost. Warm Bacon and Spinach Salad serves 2 I used to live in Wales. This recipe is based on the great Welsh stalwart—spinach. It’s so often cold in Pembrokeshire, so I made this salad a warm one. What You Need 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 4 oz (100g) naturally cured bacon, cubed 2 tablespoons raw walnuts, broken into small pieces 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1lb/450g spinach leaves 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated Maldon sea salt or Himalayan salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Here’s How Heat half of the oil in a heavy pan and add the bacon until golden brown and cooked through. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add the walnuts, vinegar and the rest of the oil. Throw in the spinach at the last minute, and toss with the other ingredients in the pan until the spinach has begun to wilt. Serve immediately with the grated parmesan on top. Salmon Delight serves 2 This recipe came from a friend—Belinda Hodson. Salmon is such a delightful fish with a unique and delicate flavor. I love this dish because it is easy to prepare and very tasty. The marinade enhances the natural flavors of the fish and the spring onion really gives it its own special zest. What You Need 2 fillets of salmon juice of 4 medium-sized lemons 2 large spring onions pepper and salt 1 dessertspoon of coconut oil zest of 1 lemon plus 2 lemon wedges parsley (for garnish) Maldon sea salt or Himalayan salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Here’s How Finely chop the spring onions and place in a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, pepper and salt and blend. Place the salmon fillets into the marinade (flesh-side down) and leave for 45 minutes. Turn the fillets onto the other side and leave for a further 15 minutes. Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan. Drain the fillets and place in the pan, cooking until tender. Serve with parsley garnish. Crudités It may sound completely mad, but when dipping crudités, it matters what shape you cut your vegetables into. Some vegetables want to be sticks, some want to be sliced diagonally into rounds. They simply taste better. Keep your crudités in the fridge in a bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon. Here’s a selection of some fruits and vegetables that make good dippers Sticks carrots turnips courgettes/zucchini green and red peppers Slices cucumber white radish beetroot Jerusalem artichoke kohlrabi apples Whole button mushrooms—stalks left on baby carrots young green beans, topped and tailed cauliflower florets spring onions Wedges tomato chicory small lettuce endive Serve them with a good dip. Here are a couple of my favorites: Curried Avocado Dip This dip is great for crudités. I serve it together with a platter of fresh phyto-nutrient filled vegetables such as endive, bulb fennel, crunchy lettuce, celery, slices of red, green, and yellow capsicum and anything else I happen to have around. What You Need 2 large ripe avocados, peeled and cubed 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 3 tbsp of lemon juice 1 tsp of vegetarian broth powder 1/8 tsp of Cajun seasoning Celtic or Maldon sea salt to taste freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 tsp of mild to medium curry powder 1 tbsp of lemon zest Here’s How Add chunks of avocado plus garlic, lemon juice, broth powder and other seasoning to the food processor— everything except the lemon zest. Blend until creamy and add lemon zest and serve. This recipe makes about 1 cup, which will keep up to 3 days in the fridge. Sesame Miso Dipping Sauce What You Need 125 ml of rice wine vinegar Granulated stevia to taste 1 tbsp miso 2 tbsp of sesame seeds, ground in a coffee grinder or food processor 1 garlic clove, crushed Here’s How Combine all the ingredients. Can be served immediately. Cool Cucumber Dip What You Need 1 small cucumber ¾ cup of yoghurt (cow’s, sheep’s or goat’s) squeeze of lemon or dash of vinegar 1 tbsp minced onion Spoonable stevia to taste 1 clove garlic (optional) fresh mint Celtic or Maldon sea salt to taste freshly ground black pepper Here’s How Peel and grate the cucumber, then drain off any excess extra juice (you can use it as a drink). Mix with the yoghurt, lemon juice or vinegar, onion, stevia and garlic. Finely chop a few mint leaves and add. Season and serve in a dish with sprigs of fresh mint. FOLLOWING YOUR NATURE It may surprise you to learn that the eating pattern which you are aiming to create for yourself is what the human body has been genetically programmed to thrive on for hundreds of thousands of years. It can enable you to eat well and plenty of food without suffering any sense of deprivation or hunger once you get accustomed to it. This is the way our hunter gathering ancestors, whose genes we have inherited, lived. They ate and then fasted, depending on when food was available and when it was not. When you get into eating quality protein foods at mealtime along with plenty of good fats like those in the above recipes, luscious green vegetables and low-sugar fruits day by day, you are likely to find yourself going from strength to strength. Your body gets firmer and leaner. Your health improves as vitality steadily grows. Your mind becomes clearer. You look younger and better than you may have done for years and you feel happier with yourself and your life. Try it and see. USEFUL PRODUCTS: BEST LIQUID STEVIA Wisdom Natural, SweetLeaf, Liquid Stevia, English Toffee Sweet Leaf liquid stevia with all natural flavors is convenient and easy to use. As a supplement, add this nutritious stevia to water, tea, coffee, milk, sparkling water, protein shakes, plain yogurt or anything else you can imagine. It comes in many different flavors including lemon but English Toffee flavor is the best by far. Buy SweetLeaf Stevia BEST MICROFILTERED WHEY Well Wisdom, Vital Whey, Natural Vanilla, 21 oz (600 g) Vital Whey is a delicious, 100% natural nutritional protein supplement. Vital Whey is a proprietary, non-denatured, native whey protein that is produced to maintain the full range of all the fragile immune-modulating and regenerative components naturally present in fresh raw milk. The milk for this product is derived from cows that are grass-fed and graze year-round on natural pastures. Our whey does not contain genetically engineered materials. It is hormone-treatment-free, pesticide-free, chemical-free and undergoes minimal processing. Grass-Fed Year-Round Hormone-Treatment-Free The Finest Biologically-Active Non-Denatured Whey Protein Dietary Supplement Comes in Natural. Vanilla and Cocoa Buy Vital Whey BEST GRANULATED STEVIA Spoonable Stevia by Stevita uses only stevia extract with at least 95% pure glycosides (extremely sweet tasting ingredients of the Stevia herb leaves), and a little erythritol, a crystal granulated naturally produced filler found in fruits, vegetables and grains. It is best for baking and sprinkling Buy Stevita

Like many old wives' tales the adage `sweat it out' is beginning to look like good advice. For generations medicine has tried to suppress fever, believing it to be a state detrimental to the body. Latest findings show that fever can not only significantly strengthen your body's defense system, it appears to be a critical component in immune function. As such, so the new findings indicate, when it occurs naturally, for instance as a response to infection, it should not be completely eliminated by drugs the way we have been wont to do. Fever weakens the force of invading enemies and is a potent positive force for fighting infections. Some scientists now believe that, because of its many immune-supporting characteristics, even when fever is artificially induced in a healthy body by saunas, Turkish baths or vigorous aerobic exercise it can act as a powerful prophylactic to aging, it can increase vitality and it can help provide you with a high level of well-being. This approach to fever is anything but new. Ancient Greek physicians considered fever a beneficial sign of vitality in an organism. They believed that disease was the result of an imbalance between the four humors - blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile - and they considered fever a means of burning off the bad humors and clearing the body of them. To this end they employed sudorific (sweat-producing) herbs, steam and hot baths to induce fevers in their patients. Such practices went on well into the seventeenth century when the famous British physician Thomas Sydenham commented that `Fever is Nature's engine, which she brings into the field to remove her enemy.' Then in the middle of the last century, with the discovery of antipyretic (temperature-lowering) drugs such as aspirin doctors began to insist on reducing fevers when they occurred. Drugs such as aspirin not only lower bodily temperature, they also eliminate many aches and pains associated with fever, thanks to their analgesic properties. This makes patients feel temporarily better. So gradually both doctor and patient began to lean heavily on the use of these drugs to suppress fever, and fever came to be considered a negative thing - something to be eliminated as rapidly and effectively as possible. Recently researchers such as Matthew J. Kluger, a professor of physiology at the University of Michigan Medical School, have begun to examine the phenomenon of fever afresh and to ask questions such as: Just what happens when the body is plunged into a feverous state? Why did evolution develop the phenomenon of temperature-raising fever in its creatures? What is the purpose of this remarkable response? What Kluger and others have discovered is that fever's occurrence is not a sign that something is wrong with your body's temperature control system. Instead, a superbly modulated deliberately chosen temperature has been created at which several important physiological and biochemical events occur to heal the body. fever's bounty Among their known benefits (and there are probably many as yet unknown), even slight elevations in temperature not only increase white-cell concentrations, they make the body's defense army of white blood cells more mobile so they can reach any site of infection quicker. There is also considerable evidence that fever makes them more effective in engulfing and destroying invading microorganisms. Indeed it appears to make many other immune functions more effective too. For instance interferon, one of the body's natural anti-viral, anticancer (and therefore probably anti-aging as well) chemicals, about which we have heard so much in the news lately, has been shown to be more effective at elevated temperatures. Of course illness is not the only way that many of the beneficial effects of fever can be brought about. EP stands for endogenous pyrogen which is a low-weight protein produced by leukocytes to help destroy infection in the body. After a good workout of aerobic exercise substances appear in the blood which have identical characteristics to EP. Naturopaths have long insisted that fever is an important force for healing the body. They claim that controlled overheating of the body also increases the rate of metabolic processes as a whole and stimulates the functioning of the endocrine system. Since Hippocrates - some 2400 years ago - doctors have been using artificial methods of inducing fever, for instance giving the herb Echinacea or putting people into sweat baths or steam baths and applying hot compresses, to improve their vitality or stimulate the body's natural healing processes. The new fever research has begun to explain why many of their time-tested methods work. It is also beginning to lend credence to the beliefs of the Turks and Russians that periodic steam baths are strengthening to health and vitality, and to those of the Scandinavians, who have used saunas as a means of both stimulating immune response and spring-cleaning the body from within. words of warning Despite new findings that fever is of benefit to the body, there is every indication that it needs to be treated with respect and that your physician is the best guide to dealing with any illness. For extreme fever can have a damaging effect on a body. And there are some people in whom the benefits of fever may well be outweighed by the risks involved. For instance, in a pregnant woman a high fever could potentially damage her unborn child and young children with very high fever can be subject to convulsions. Also, fevers in very old people have to be carefully watched because of possible damage they could do to the heart. fever as a prophylactic Provided you are fit, aerobic exercise such as cycling, running, walking very briskly, swimming, rowing or dancing is probably the best way of all to benefit from small elevations in temperature. Saunas too can be helpful provided you are in good health, don't overdo them and provided you follow the basic guidelines. A sauna helps make your joints more supple while it soothes your muscles and refreshes the mind. It is also an excellent adjunct to any serious anti-cellulite program for a woman. And early spring, when one's body is suffering from too much heavy winter food and clothing, too little fresh air and exercise, is an excellent time to make use of it. Here are the guidelines: Give yourself lots of time. It will do most for you if you take it leisurely so you have time for several sessions in the heat, with short rests in-between and a rest of at least thirty minutes - preferably an hour - after you are through. Never take a sauna until at least two hours after a meal and never take a sauna during a juice fast. (It is an excellent idea to use the sauna the day before a juice fast or special eliminating diet begins, however.) Never take a sauna if you have the symptoms of an illness. Wear little or nothing in the sauna - a towel wrapped around you is more than enough. The more you wear the less effective will the heat treatment be. Take off any jewelry and your watch. They become very hot. Stay in the sauna room for only 5-10 minutes at a stretch. Then plunge into cold water or take a cold shower and rest before going back in. Don't water the stones during your first session and be sparing with the moisture you put on afterwards. Lie down in the sauna room if you can or sit quietly. Once you are used to the heat you can move to a higher bench. Take at least a half-hour rest at the end to let your body readjust to the normal temperature of the room. This is just as important as the sauna itself to make sure you reap all the benefits. Don't towel-dry yourself afterwards. Instead let the air dry your skin naturally. Then you can have a shower.

People at the higher reaches of human health don’t face the future with fears of getting old and falling prey to degenerative disease. They live with a sense that the best is yet to come. They know they’re capable of moving toward an even higher state of health and fulfilment as the years pass. They’re not ruled by run of the mill notions about aging which teach that getting older includes illness as a “natural” part of life. They know different. Their view of aging is closer to that of the world famous age researcher Johan Bjorksten, who insists that aging is a question of bringing “as many people as possible as many more healthy vigorous years of life as possible.” LEARN THE SECRETS Thirty years ago my daughter Susannah and I wrote a ground-breaking bestseller about the wonders of high-raw eating called Raw Energy. Ever since then, I have been flooded with letters from around the world. People write to tell me about their experiments with high-raw eating and all the payoffs it has brought them. Together, with new information from many areas of natural medicine, they have added missing pieces to the original Raw Power puzzle. All this has expanded exponentially the understanding of how to use diet to encourage healing and enhance health. MY SEARCH FOR HEALTH I had been chronically ill as a child—one “infection” after another, nightmares, anxiety. But no-one seemed able to help me. Then a wonderful break came my way. I met some remarkable doctors. These were men and women highly trained in orthodox medicine where drugs are the primary means of treating symptoms. Yet these were doctors with a difference. Disillusioned with the conventional, symptomatic approach to medicine, they chose to look deeper and ask questions: “What can be done to help a living body heal itself from inside without the negative side effects of toxic chemicals in drugs?” These physicians in Britain, the United States and Europe, were enormously generous with their time and their knowledge. They shared with me research findings and information which they had spent decades learning: How to detoxify my body using a high-raw or all-raw diet. How to enhance my energy. And—most important of all—how to trust my body’s ability to heal itself. CHECKING IT OUT I practiced what they taught and experimented with countless natural techniques. Their knowledge and generosity turned my life around. I learned that my tendency to “infection” was in fact food allergies. I learned that, after years of eating convenience foods, my body had become toxic. I watched and marveled as high-raw eating cleared the toxicity, the illness, and the depression. I lost fat from my body spontaneously. I felt great. I had so much energy that my children used to tease me by suggesting I start smoking to put a damper on my vitality. (There is nothing worse than waking up to an ultra-dynamic, hyper-cheerful mother.) I never looked back. It was these changes that threw me into a career in health: TV programs, articles, books, seminars, workshops, creating teaching modules for universities—the lot. I saw clearly that few of us ever live out our potentials for dynamism, creativity, good looks and radiant health. I felt passionate about sharing what I had been taught and had experienced for myself with others. My children also became intrigued by the changes they saw happening to me on a high-raw diet. They loved the delicious foods and natural sweet treats which we learned to prepare together. WHAT WE FOUND OUT Here’s what we found out happens when you eat high-raw, low-grain foods: You have more energy and vitality and look better. You lose weight more easily and keep it off without counting calories. You benefit from the “information” that organic live foods carry to your cells in the form of electro-chemical light energy and complex nutritional information which improves health and radiance. You get the best possible complements of vitamins, minerals and trace elements as well as essential enzymes that are destroyed when foods are cooked. Eating raw foods strengthens immunity, making you more resistant to disease, degeneration and allergies. Many chronic conditions disappear when people switch to a high-raw low-grain diet and—best news yet—they often don’t return. Long ago, I’d learned that the Germans, the Austrians, the Swedes and the Swiss had for generations catalogued the health promoting effects of eating foods high in raw fresh vegetables and fruits. Such a diet had long been credited with the healing of long term crippling diseases like arthritis and cancer, gastric ulcers, diabetes and heart disease. I unearthed reports of how athletes, taken off their usual diet high in cooked foods and put onto a way of eating in which between 50-75% of their foods were raw, not only lost none of their physical prowess, they even improved their performances. MEET RAW POWER An optimal experience of human health and vitality is possible when what we eat and the way we live is in line with what we have been genetically predisposed to thrive on. Such a simple idea. Yet what dazzling payoffs it can bring. New information from many areas of natural medicine can add missing pieces to the original Raw Power puzzle, expanding exponentially the understanding of how to use this way of eating to encourage healing and improve health. Raw foods carry light energy—photons—gathered by plants and animals from the sun’s own energy. These biophotons interact with our body’s own light-based, energy-based cellular control and communication systems—the living matrix—to heal, to energize, to bring mental and emotional clarity and to help keep our bodies strong and resistant to the buildup of toxic waste which invites disease and degeneration. And, Raw Power eating has three beneficial characteristics to it: A high-raw diet is the way our ancestors ate to which we are genetically adapted an on which we therefore thrive. It has to include adequate adequate but not excessive top quality proteins. It’s a way of eating which is low-or-no-grain and low-or-no-sugar that does not include manufactured convenience foods. RAW POWER TRUTHS An all-raw diet is useful temporarily for deep detoxification and encouraging the body to heal both acute and chronic diseases. It is not advisable for most people to eat nothing but raw foods for long periods. People who carry on with eating all-raw for years may continue to feel well, yet they often lose power and stamina both physically and mentally. Sometimes they even find it hard to live in the “real” world. This is often because they do not get enough top quality protein foods which establish firm architecture for body and psyche. Adequate protein is far healthier for bones than a low-protein diet. Organic and free range meat, fish, game and eggs can contribute enormously to your power and vitality and help protect from premature aging and degenerative disease (this is something I, like many others, for years did not know to be true). Too much sugar and too many sweeteners like honey, raw sugar, rice syrup and malt extract which all-raw foodies often get, are not good. They disturb insulin balance, predisposing us to insulin resistance and all the degeneration that brings with it. The majority of people living on a conventional Western diet show signs of insulin resistance syndrome. This epidemic of abnormalities includes high blood pressure, distorted blood fats or triglycerides, high cholesterol and blood sugar disorders. It carries with it an increased risk of just about every age-related disorder you can name: from eye problems, heart disease, nervous system disorders, obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s to chronic fatigue, exhaustion, anxiety, depression and poor sense of self worth. Why? Because the way they are eating and living is so far removed from what their bodies are genetically programmed to thrive on. Eating a no-grain—or a low-grain—diet, together with moderate quantities of quality protein foods and plenty of non-starchy vegetables and fruits reduces fatigue for virtually everyone while it eliminates weight problems, banishes inflammation and further enhances health, energy and good looks. Today’s fruits and vegetables lack yesterday’s nutrition, so a few well-chosen natural nutritional supplements can further enhance well-being. We need if at all possible to go for organic foods and so help avoid the toxic build-ups that can occur from foods grown using conventional farming methods. Finally—and most important of all—high-raw low-grain eating helps rebalance metabolism, allowing the body’s own remarkable inner power for healing to regenerate and rejuvenate the whole person. YOU DESERVE TO THRIVE Few of us reach our potentials for radiant health, energy, clarity, emotional balance and creative power. This is what I call life at the peaks—quantum health. By this I mean a real leap into a totally different way of life—which most people don’t think is possible. I mean a way of living where you awaken in the morning feeling fresh and good about yourself and your life—a state of being in which your physical and mental potential have the best chance of being used to full effect—that realm of consciousness in which your capacity for fun, passion and excitement over just being alive can soar like a joyous child. For real health is not just the absence of disease. It is a dynamic state of mind, body and spirit which makes it possible for us to participate fully and spontaneously in life, whatever it throws at us. I suggest you get into Raw Power and thrive.

A few years ago I had lunch with a beautiful and successful American woman in her mid thirties. Sooner or later the conversation got around - as it often does with me - to children. This woman told me that she had a five year old daughter. I asked her if it was difficult living and working in New York while raising a child on her own. She replied that it had been hard but that now it should get better since she and her little girl were going to parenting classes. `Parenting classes,' I asked, `whatever are they?' `You know, where you learn how to be a parent. We go twice a week together,' she reported with enthusiasm. Curious about what was taught in these new programs, and at the same time suppressing a smile at the latest American attempt to package up something as rich and complex as parenthood and spoonfeed it to clients well-heeled enough to afford the indulgence, I asked, `What do they teach you?' `Oh, they teach you just everything’ she screeched, sweeping her hand across the table in a way that makes British head waiters loathe American clients. `For instance, when your child goes to pick up something from the coffee table which you don't want her to have you must never be negative,' she said. `Negativity is not good for children,' she added, leaning closer in a conspiratorial fashion. `So instead of saying, "No, no," which might crush your child's spirit, you say, "Now darling that is a no, but this is a yes (pointing to other objects near by), and this is a yes and this is a yes."' OUT OF PATIENCE I have little patience with such practices - nor do I believe there are a lot of set rules to follow to raise a child well. That is because, like a lot of seasoned parents, I have learned about parenthood the hard way. When my first child was born—more than fifty years ago now—I was determined to bring him up right: not to make the mistakes that my parents had made with me, to ensure that he developed quickly both physically and mentally, and that he turned into the kind of person that I thought he should be. I worked hard at it. I read everything I could get my hands on about child development - all the latest theories and all the traditional wisdom. No time or expense was to be spared in bringing up this child. He would be breast-fed, disciplined, and taught to read by the time he was a year old using special equipment designed for the task. I would instill in him a strong sense of moral rectitude and good manners and he would be given every kind of educational toy I could lay my hands on to help develop his creativity. Also I would never lose my temper, always be patient and kind (but firm of course) and make sure he didn't watch too much television. My master plan for child rearing might have sounded good on paper, but it had a couple of big drawbacks. First, no human being could ever have carried it out. Second, it completely ignored the most important truth there is about child rearing - a truth which I did not myself come to know until I had two or three more children under my belt. It is this: You don't have to read a thousand books and follow a lot of rules the so-called experts make up to raise a healthy, happy, creative child. You only need to learn to trust in yourself and in the incredible powers of Nature. You also need to develop the art of listening—with your heart and mind and instincts as well as your ears—to your child. Most of the time he will tell you what you need to know. TO HELL WITH “PERFECT PARENTING” Once I finally figured this out - many tried and failed strategies down the road - I let go of my anxieties and theories. Then motherhood became not only a joy for me but a source of never-ending wonder. I discovered that each child—not only my own children, but boys and girls with whom I worked as a nursery school teacher, and others—is utterly unique and perfect in his or her own way. I also learned that your relationship to a child has a life of its own. So long as you are willing to face each child honestly and openly day by day and so long as you honor and respect this relationship, not only does this empower you to give the best guidance and care for the child. In some magic way which I still don't fully understand, it can even help heal deep emotional wounds within you yourself as a learning parent. Most important of all I discovered that the whole idea of perfect parenthood is a big fraud. There ain't nothing perfect when it comes to parenthood. Perfect by whose criteria anyway? The sooner you accept this fact, the sooner you can get down to the business of child rearing and enjoying it. For me, raising children—whether it be dealing with a tiny baby or seeing your twenty-five year old develop year by year—has been the most exciting and rewarding thing I have ever done—or for that matter, ever hope to do. And as for the widespread belief that unless you have been well mothered while you were growing up you are doomed to be a bad mother yourself. It just ain’t so—no matter what those high falutin’ experts keep sayin’.

Even more important than the food we eat is the air we breathe, and the way we breathe it. They can affect how we feel emotionally and physically, and how we look—even the cells of the skin are dependent for their metabolic processes on a constant supply of enough oxygen. How much energy we can call on, and even how clearly we can think—all these things depend greatly on how we breathe. Because breathing is the only one of your body's functions that can be either completely involuntary or voluntary, the breath even creates a bridge between how our conscious and unconscious function. This makes it possible, by becoming aware of your breathing, to discover how you’re feeling and what is taking place in your body. Even better, once you master a few simple breath practices, you can use them to raise your energy level as well as to alter your thinking and your moods. MAGIC MIXTURE FOR LIFE The air you breathe is not a chemical compound, but a simple mixture of gases: 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 95 percent inert gases, and 3 percent carbon dioxide by volume, plus a carbonic acid content that varies between .02 percent and .06 percent (when it is higher, the oxygen content is lower). In addition, it contains traces of water, a little ammonia, various mineral salts, and ozone. This curious mixture is the most necessary stuff in the world to all forms of life. You can live for several weeks without food, several days without water, but only a few minutes without air. BREATHE ENERGY Throughout history the breath has been associated with energy, force, and power of both a physical and metaphysical kind. In the Bible, the word translated as "spirit" can also be translated as "air." It is the invisible life force, the energy the Chinese call chi and manipulate in acupuncture treatments. The Sufis refer to it as barales. It plays an important role in their techniques of meditation. The Yogis call it prana. They insist that breath is responsible for the extraordinary control they are able to exert over mind and body. Prana actually means breath, respiration, life, vitality, wind, energy, and strength. The word is also used to mean soul as distinguished from body. Yogis believe that if we are able to control our breath we can also control pain, emotions, and physical health, as well as supernatural phenomena. We tend to think that the energy we have comes from the food we eat. But as the ancient traditions teach, air, not food, is the primary fuel for driving the human engine. Without the oxygen air contains, your body would not be able to break down the nutrients you take in through your foods in order to produce energy and to nourish your cells. When air is first taken into the lungs, it fills the tiny bronchioles. Oxygen diffuses through their membranes into your bloodstream and is carried throughout your body to every cell of every organ and tissue. Your blood is capable of absorbing up to four times as much oxygen as water can, as long as there is enough iron available to produce haemoglobin, which carries the oxygen through the bloodstream. One of the most important common symptoms of iron-deficiency anaemia is the inability to catch your breath—you simply cannot get enough oxygen. BREATH OF EMOTION The link between the way you breathe and your emotional state is well established. Not only do your emotions affect your breathing. Remember the last time you were frightened and you gasped for breath? Or how, when you are excited, your breathing becomes shallower and faster than usual? How you breathe can bring on, or turn off, emotional states. Here's an experiment that shows this: Start to breathe very shallowly so only the shoulders and top of your chest show any signs of movement, and pant in and out quickly for about forty-five seconds. At the end of that time your heart will be pounding and you will have all the feelings of anxiety and fear. Or try it the other way around. The next time you are in a difficult situation and you feel you might lose control, stop. Take three or four long deep breaths from the abdomen and let them out slowly. Then take another look at the challenge. You'll find your mind and feelings a lot calmer. The art of normal breathing is something I think every woman concerned with protecting her good looks and preserving her health should know. When your lung capacity is developed and used to the full, you will have more energy, suffer less from fatigue, and be able to think more clearly. It will also make your skin glow with health and your eyes shine. And it is not as difficult as you might imagine. It involves no more than learning a few new habits. Let's look at four that you can start developing right now. Then we'll go on to some specific breathing techniques for specific effects. THE ART OF FULL BREATHING 1. When you breathe, breathe with your whole chest and abdomen too. Most of us breathe only with the top part of our body, which means we are not fully lowering the diaphragm and expanding the lungs and so are not making use of their full capacity. This kind of restricted breathing stifles emotional expression and is often linked with anxiety, depression, and worry. To check for abdominal breathing, put your hands on your tummy. Does it swell when you breathe in and sink when you breathe out? It should. Lying flat on a firm surface, practice breathing fully and gently until you get the feel of it. 2. Make sure that with each out-breath you let out all the air you take in. By exhaling more of the carbon dioxide, you will get rid of more of the cells' waste products and you will be able to make full use of each new breath of air as it is taken down into your lungs. 3. Take up some kind of aerobic exercise—such as running, bicycling, or dancing—that demands full use of your lungs every day. 4. Use the following exercise for five minutes twice a day to increase your lung capacity, slim your middle, purify your blood, and help you learn the art of fuller breathing. You can also use it whenever you feel tense or need to clear your head: Resting your hands on your rib cage at the sides, just above the waist, breathe out completely. Now inhale gently through the nose, letting your abdomen swell as much as it will to a slow count of five. Continue to breathe in through the nose to another count of five, this time letting your ribs expand under your hands and finally your chest too—but don't raise your shoulders in the process. Hold your breath for a count of five; now slowly let it out through your mouth as you count slowly to ten, noticing how your rib cage shrinks beneath your hands and pulling in with your abdomen until you have released all the air. Repeat four times. Most of us have forgotten how to breathe fully. Time taken to relearn it is time well spent. As you do there are all sorts of delicious little techniques you can add to it—from sensuous breathing that makes your whole body tingle, to quick fix breathing that banishes anxiety. They raise the whole breathing thing to a whole new level...More to come soon.

Real age—your biological age—has little to do with how old you are in years. Most people, age prematurely. This is avoidable. It is also reversible. One of the reasons I have such a passion for herbs is, when you know what to use when they can slow biological aging, help restore balance, and improve how you look, you feel, as well as how your body functions year by year. Combined with regular detoxification and a natural diet high in a wide variety of fresh vegetables and top quality protein, they can even rejuvenate the body in medically measurable ways—improved circulation, increased resistance to illness, and to emotional and mental troubles. They can also help you reconnect with your innate vitality whatever your chronological age. NATURE’S PROTECTORS Plants do this in many ways. Some such as ginseng, garlic and gotu kola are specifically anti-ageing in their actions. Others—herbs such as purslane and thyme as well as foods like seaweeds, oranges, carrots, and green vegetables—are literally brimming with anti-oxidants and other phyto-chemicals which are protective, regenerative and immune enhancing. Make a few of these plants an every-day part of your life. They will help protect you from the kind of free radical damage which underlies both premature ageing and the development of degenerative diseases. Here are some of my favourite anti-ageing herbs: Gotu Kola Gotu Kola—Centella asiatica—has been used for centuries in India to extend life span and enhance memory. Gotu kola, like many quality bulk herbs, is native to the tropical regions of Asia and Africa, particularly Sri Lanka and Madagascar. Traditionally, its leaves are dried and steeped in order to create a tea or infusion. Gotu kola is also easy to grow in your garden or in a pot in the kitchen window however. It is also easy to introduce into your life. Just add a fresh leaf or two or a teaspoon of this dried plant to whatever herb tea you are drinking. You can also put a few leaves into salad when you make it. My favorite is a product for making your own gotu kola tea which is reasonably priced and organic. (see below) Nori Seaweed Nori Seaweed—If you have never used sea vegetables for cooking, this is an ideal time to begin. Not only are they delicious—imparting a wonderful, spicy flavour to soups and salads— they are the richest source of organic mineral salts in nature, particularly of iodine. Iodine is the mineral needed by the thyroid gland. As your thyroid gland is largely responsible for the body’s metabolic rate, iodine is very important to a person’s energy and to protect from early aging . I like to use powdered kelp as a seasoning. It adds both flavour and minerals to salad dressings, salads and soups. I am also excessively fond of nori seaweed, which comes in long thin sheets or tiny flakes. It is a delicious snack food which you can eat along with a salad or at the beginning of the meal. It has a beautiful, crisp flavour. I like best to toast sheets of nori by passing it over a hob flame for no more than a few seconds. This brings out its wonderful flavor and turns it crunchy. The only problem I have with toasting nori is that Gus, is completely addicted to it. This means there is no peace while we are making it. He can smell nori from far away even when the kitchen door is closed. As soon as we open it, he devours a couple of big sheets of nori which we have crumbled into tiny pieces for him. Green Barley Green Barley—This is a dried form of the natural juice taken from young barley leaves. It needs to be organically grown and pesticide-free. Rich in proteins, flavonoids, minerals including iron, vitamins such as K and B15, as well as chlorophyll and other nutrients, green barley boasts thousands of enzymes, not all of which are destroyed in the digestive process. Many can play important roles in supporting anti-aging metabolic processes. It also contains a high concentration of superoxide dismutase (SOD)—an anti-oxidant enzyme. Sprinkle from 1⁄2 to 1 teaspoon of green barley on to salads or mix into juices, miso broth or water. The brand I like best is very inexpensive and you can buy a pound at a time. Purslane Purslane—Portulaca oleracea brims with anti-oxidants—plant chemicals as well as vitamins known for their abilities to quench excess free radicals in the body. As such perslane enhances immune functioning. You can grow purslane in a vegetable patch or just about anywhere—even in window boxes, between the rose bushes or wherever you have an extra bit of space. Add purslane to fresh vegetable juices or put it through a blender to make ‘live’ vegetable drinks. Ginkgo Biloba Ginkgo Biloba—improves circulation to the brain. Lots of well founded European research shows this. It can even be helpful to people with Alzheimer’s disease. The leaves from this most ancient of trees restore memory, elevate mood, and quell anxiety. There are more than 300 published studies and reports which support the anti-ageing properties of Ginkgo. Its extract is used in Germany to help treat everything from depression and cerebrovascular insufficiency to asthma, transplant rejection and hearing loss. It is also used in a few expensive skin products to protect against environmental irritation. You can take ginkgo as an extract, tincture or in capsules. I prefer a high potency herbal tincture—1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon 2 or 3 times a day. Ginseng Ginseng—Panax quinquefolius—is the classic anti-ageing plant. It can be a godsend for both men and women when recovering from a long-term illness or stress or pulling yourself out of deep fatigue. And it improves libido in both. This root brings endurance when you need it. I like to take ginseng as a tea – but make sure you buy a good one. When I need strengthening I drink double doses of ginseng tea that has been specially processed to dissolve instantaneously in hot water. Horsetail Horsetail—Equisetum arvense is the best natural source of the mineral silicon which declines in the body as we get older. Silicon is important to the maintenance of strong bones, preventing osteoporosis, firming skin, and protecting from wrinkles and sagging. Horsetail is one of the world’s oldest plants. Organic horsetail tea is the best way to take this wondeful plant several cups a day. My favorite brand is organic of course and sells for less than US $12 a pound. Here are some of my favorites and the very best products: Organic Gotu Kola Herb Centella Asiatica Origin: India Kosher Certified by Kosher Certification Services Certified Organic by QAI, Inc. Gotu kola herb, like many quality bulk herbs, is native to the tropical regions of Asia and Africa, particularly Sri Lanka and Madagascar. Traditionally, the leaves of such herbs are dried and steeped in order to create a tea or infusion. Order Starwest Botanicals, Organic Gotu Kola Herb from iherb NORI ORGANIC SEAWEED Emerald Cove Silver Grade Organic Nori has a fine, pliable texture, producing exceptionally smooth and delicious rolls of nori-maki sushi. Just briefly pass over a low flame to toast before using. You'll marvel at the clean, sweet taste of this kind of edible sea vegetables. Order Nori Organic Seaweed from iherb ORGANIC GREEN BARLEY Frontier Natural Products, Organic Powdered Barley Grass Barley Grass is a whole food loaded with essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and many more nutrients your body needs every day. A wonderful way to ensure you're getting enough dark leafy greens in your diet. Order Organic Powdered Barley Grass from iherb GINKGO BILOBA TINCTURE ORGANIC We prepare our Ginkgo Extract from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba trees which have been Certified Organically Grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. To assure optimal extraction of Ginkgo's bioactive compounds, the leaves are hand-harvested in early autumn when Ginkgo's bioactive compounds are at their optimal concentration. They are then carefully shade-dried and promptly extracted. Our Ginkgo is never fumigated or irradiated. Order Herb Pharm, Ginkgo from iherb AMERICAN GINSENG ORGANIC We prepare our American Ginseng Extract from dry Panax quinquefolius roots which are Certified Organically Grown. To assure optimal extraction of American Ginseng's bioactive compounds, the roots are hand-harvested in mid to late autumn, are carefully shade-dried, and are then thoroughly extracted. Our American Ginseng is never fumigated or irradiated. Order Herb Pharm, American Ginseng from iherb HORSETAIL ORGANIC FOR TEAS A perennial grass that is dimorphic, having a fertile stem in the spring which dies back and is replaced by a sterile stem in early summer. The fertile stem is brownish in color, shorter and unbranched. The sterile stem is green with whorls of needle-like leaves and jointed stems. Order Organic Cut & Sifted Horsetail from iherb