food

I cannot recommend sprouts highly enough. Not only can they be grown in your kitchen to provide delicious and inexpensive organic salads all year round, but they boast some extraordinary energy-giving properties. When a seed, pulse or grain begins to germinate, it becomes a wondrous energy factory, producing vast amounts of essential nutrients. For instance, the vitamin E content of wheat grains - already one of the best sources in nature - increases up to three times upon sprouting. The B2 content of oats rises by at least 1300 per cent. Apart from the vitamins, sprouts also contain considerable quantities of minerals and even protein, all in readily-assimilable form. The process of germination, like the process of digestion, converts complex energy reserves into the simple energy compounds needed for metabolism. Sprouts are in effect a 'predigested' food, so that when you eat them your body is able to absorb their nourishment. They are also rich in chlorophyll, which supports your body's production of hemoglobin (the oxygen carrying molecule in the blood), vital for cell energy metabolism. In just a few minutes a day, you can cultivate a continual sprout supply so that you never run out of fresh salad ingredients. One of the simplest ways to grow a variety of sprouts is as a mix. I particularly like a combination of alfalfa with lentil and mung. To this I occasionally add a few fenugreek or radish seeds for extra zest. Another of my favorites is wheatsprouts, which have a delicious chewy texture and nutty flavor. These I sprout on their own because they are ready so quickly - usually in 2-3 days. Incidentally, even someone with a food sensitivity to wheat can usually enjoy wheat sprouts problem-free, thanks to the changes that occur in the grain during germination. Leslie's sprout magic mix In a large glass jar place 6 tablespoons of alfalfa seeds and 2 tablespoons each of lentils and mung beans. Fill the jar with water and leave to soak for about 12 hours (or overnight). Drain the excess water away by placing a sieve over the neck of the jar, and then rinse and drain twice more. Divide the mixture between two (or more) jars so that there are no more than two inches of sprouts in each. This way your sprouts will have room to breathe and grow. Rinse and drain the sprouts twice a day. Alternatively, take a seed tray and line it with paper kitchen towels, then spread the sprout mix over the bottom of it. Simply spritz the sprouts with water from a plant spray twice a day and stir them around gently for aeration. After 4-6 days, when the alfalfa seeds have developed little green leaves, the mix is ready to harvest. Rinse the sprouts well and drain. Store them in the fridge in an airtight container or in sealed polythene bags, to be used abundantly in salads and other vegetable dishes.

2500 years ago Hippocrates, the father of medicine, pointed out that “All diseases are crises of purification—toxic elimination.”  The entire basis of natural medicine is based on his declaration. If Hippocrates knew the massive onslaught of toxicity that we face today, he would have turned over in his grave.  I don’t think he could have imagined it in his worst nightmare.  100,000 new chemicals In the last 80 years, more than 100,000 new chemicals have turned up in our environment. More than 95% of these have never even been tested. 4000 of them have been added to our foods.  The average child is exposed to 3.5 ounces of these chemicals every day of its life. These dangerous substances are taken into our own bodies as well, in even greater amounts. The average adult now carries more than 700 times the levels of toxic chemicals, heavy metals and pollutants than our grandparents were exposed to. Where do they come from?  From the manufactured fast foods and packaged convenience foods we buy in our supermarkets.  From herbicides and pesticides sprayed on our foods. From (PCBs), aromatic hydrocarbons and even flame retardants in the clothes we buy, as well as hundreds of other sources.   These toxic chemicals do not degrade.  They accumulate in the environment and pollute the food chain, undermining human health to a degree that has never before been seen.  Yet we keep eating manufactured foods, and we keep giving them to our children.  Then we wonder why we become ill. Too often we turn to conventional medicine which tells us we should take powerful pharmaceutical drugs that can only suppress symptoms temporarily while polluting our bodies with yet more toxicity.  Is there a possible end to all of this?  Are we able to protect ourselves and our children? Can We Protect Ourselves It’s not easy but the answer is yes.  We can. If we are serious about clearing all this toxicity from our bodies and restoring health to ourselves. bringing this about can be faster than you may ever have imagined.  We need to make changes in what we eat.  It starts with a return to REAL foods—foods grown on healthy soils.  If you have a garden, start planting organic vegetables and fruits.  If you live in an apartment, start growing sprouted seeds and grains in jars in your kitchen window.  Then search for a source of organic vegetables and fruits near you and clear your cupboards of manufactured foods altogether.  Next, eat half of your foods raw, and make sure they are organically grown.  The protein foods you buy should come from animals that have been naturally farmed—eggs from free-range, organic chickens, and meats from healthy animals that have been grazed on green grass.  If you eat fish, make sure they are wild. Never eat the farmed fish. They have been raised on waste products you do not want to take into your body.  Educate your friends, your children to question every advertisement they see on television.  People are smart if you give them a chance. All they need is a little encouragement to voice their opinion about what is true and what is fraudulent.  And if you Start now, in three months’ time the difference in your health will astound you.

Participants on Cura Romana continue to report that former digestive disturbances—from irritable bowel problems and acid reflux to chronic constipation—clear up during an online Cura Romana Journey. The vast majority of participants who have been on long-term medication for these ailments end up no longer needing any medication. Meanwhile, I am continually being asked by others what causes digestive troubles. Here is a pretty good list of the causes that you might like to check off and get rid of in your own life: WHAT CAUSES GUT UPSET Eating too much Eating before the previous meal is completely digested Drinking iced drinks often (especially before or during meals) Too much alcohol Eating on the run Eating at irregular times Eating heavy meals and late snacks at night Over growth of yeasts and fungi such as Candida Albicans Dysbiosis—low levels of good guy bacteria in the gut, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria adolescentis Food allergies or sensitivities Nutrient deficiencies such as zinc, magnesium, vitamin B complex Low stomach acid On-going physical, emotional or mental stress Medications such as antibiotics—even when used for only one day—or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) A diet too low in protein Increased demand for protein owing to trauma, surgery, excessive exercise, illness, fasting Too little fiber in your diet Go through the above list and see what, if any, of these issues you can clear from your own life, enabling digestive issues to clear up. What I love about Cura Romana is that it appears, quite naturally, to clear digestive problems from within in most cases, wiping out any need for drug intervention as the body rebalances itself. MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME A CURE For Digestive Problems She was part Native American and I learned a lot from her while I was growing up about the blessings of the herb goldenseal—Hydrastis canadensis. Favorite cure-all of the Cherokee Indians, goldenseal has in recent years won praise from scientists for its widespread benefits, which include banishing morning sickness and nausea, calming digestive disturbances, and banishing skin diseases and hemorrhoids. It can even be used as a douche in the treatment of vaginal infections, as a mouthwash in the treatment of gum problems, and to fight off flu and fevers. One of the most generally effective of all remedies, this is another herb I would never want to be without. HOW IT IS TAKEN: Many people prefer to use the powdered root in capsules rather than as an infusion or tincture, since goldenseal does not taste good. Personally I love the bitter taste. I can feel it working the moment I take it, as an extract or tincture in half a glass of water. Take 1 to 4 capsules three times a day, or tincture of fresh herb 10 to 30 drops, 3 to 4 times a day. NATIVE AMERICAN MAGIC This bitter tonic was much used in the 19th century to soothe disorders of the stomach and heal the liver. The alkaloids which the root contains not only stimulate bile production and secretion, they also destroy unhelpful bacteria in the gut and increase the tone and movement of the gastrointestinal tract. The root relieves nausea during pregnancy, has over-all tonic actions on the nervous system, and is excellent applied in strong infusion to eczema and many other skin problems. COUNTERS INFECTIONS: Excellent for the treatment of all kinds of infection, goldenseal can banish catarrh in the head and throat, and clear up infections of the teeth and gums when used as a mouthwash. CALMS UTERINE CONTRACTIONS: Gently strengthening to muscle tone and circulation, it has a mildly sedative and muscle-relaxing effect on the body, and helps stabilize blood sugar. It can even be used for menstrual disorders, especially menorrhagia.

Eating conventional grains and cereals distorts hormonal regulation and interferes with your body’s ability to maintain its normal functions. These foods also turn into sugars. Then they wreak havoc with insulin and blood sugar levels, produce peaks and troughs of energy, cause cravings, create chronic fatigue, weight gain and a myriad of other problems, including brain fog and depression. Independent studies confirm all this and more. Is there an alternative, so your health and vitality can soar? There sure is. But few people know about it. Grains Cause Degenerative Conditions Most people—including those who believe they are eating a “healthy diet”—are amazed to learn that the common grains and cereals we eat, which form the base of convenience foods, play a major role in the development of diabetes, coronary heart disease and a myriad of other degenerative conditions. And I’m not just talking about wheat and other grains that contain gluten. I mean ALL common grains! For more than half a century, food manufacturers, intent on making profit, have been producing a great variety of palatable “foods” by fragmenting and reducing raw material foodstuffs—grains and fats and sugars—to simple “nuts and bolts” ingredients. Then they whip up these nuts and bolts into the manipulated convenience foods that fill our supermarket shelves—from ready-to-eat meals to candy bars, cakes, breads, and cereals—in short, the stuff that makes up some 75% of what the average person eats. Eating these foods, and the kind of carbohydrate foods that they contain, encourages rapid aging. It also encourages your body to fabricate wrinkles, sags, a puffy face and a lackluster complexion. Then you wonder why you appear to be aging so quickly. The chronic high blood sugar and insulin resistance that develops from eating so many grains and cereals makes you muddle-minded, depressed and lacking in the energy you need to overcome all of this. Eliminate Convenience Foods From Your Life These are only a few reasons to seriously minimize or completely eliminate grains, cereals, and convenience foods from your life. It’s time to explore the false grains. These seeds and grasses are mistakenly labeled grains, but they are completely different. I call them the faux grains. High in protein and fiber but low-glycemic compared to conventional grains, they are full of vitamins and minerals including magnesium, iron and calcium. They are gluten-free, easy to digest and assimilate and alkaline-forming in your body. The false grains are great for making muffins, pancakes, cereals, loaves, pilafs and all sorts of other dishes. You can even sprout many with ease to supply even more vitamins, minerals and important plant factors to your body. Try these in your cooking and baking. You can find them in any good organic food store: Amaranth, Buckwheat, Millet, Quinoa, and Wild Rice. You will be surprised, too, by how much better you will feel using them instead of the conventional stuff most people still eat. Many people even shed excess weight and, in the process, develop a spontaneous desire to increase the quantity of fiber-rich fresh raw vegetables in their diet. They report renewed vitality and wellbeing. The faux grains can help you control your weight, often without having to restrict the quantity of food you eat. To anybody who has conscientiously fought—and too often lost—the battle of the bulge, this can seem like a miracle. In truth, it’s no miracle. It simply comes as a result of the metabolic rebalance which takes place by turning away from convenience foods, sugars and grains, and replacing them with nourishing and delicious seeds and grasses. You see, eliminating wheat, maize, sugars, starches and sweets from your diet, and drastically reducing or cutting out grains and cereals, transforms the biochemistry of your body, restores energy and wipes out cravings for alcohol, drugs and sweets. It helps your body grow leaner and stronger, then supports it to stay that way. Although as yet little known, these delicious grasses and seeds are important for everyone, even young children. They're naturally high in fiber and filling to eat. And, when eaten regularly, they help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes—even certain cancers. The gifts they bring are too good to miss. Clear your cupboards of the old stuff and get into the faux grains. You will love them.

The media is suddenly obsessed with fasting. On one hand, this is a good thing. The right kind of fasting can be a tremendously powerful tool for rejuvenation, weightloss, restoring insulin sensitivity, promoting human growth hormone—the anti-aging hormone—and lots of other things. Fasting can clear your mind and body of what is preventing you from living your life on top form. What worries me is the way so many wild fasting practices have turned up recently. One day it’s a cure-all for everybody. The next it leads people to binge on junk foods. So what is all the buzz about? Fasting is a powerful tool. But it needs to be taken seriously, fully understood and carefully followed. In recent months I have had a number of people join our Cura Romana Journey or Inner Circle Gold on line programs who were in trouble after their metabolism became all screwed up by their having tried to follow one of the current fast-yourself-slim diets. This is a sad state of affairs. More unbiased information about fasting, its blessings and its drawbacks needs to be forthcoming. MY LIFE IN FASTING When it comes to fasting of all kinds I’d wager there are few who have researched and experimented with it as long as I have. I was introduced to the ancient tradition of fasting in my mid-twenties when I had been unwell for many years, and it changed my life. I first wrote about intermittent fasting more than thirty years ago in The Joy of Beauty. I’ve continued to research and write about it in many other books since. I became fascinated by the profound healing of body, mind and spirit that takes place when people fast wisely. I have done so many kinds of fasts—juice fasts, water fasts, fasts using nothing but free-form amino acids, and intermittent fasts. I’ve just about tried them all. I even did a 40 day fast on water then spent the last five days of it skiing at St Moritz. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS I remember well the healing physical effects of carrying out my very first fast. My head became clearer and clearer. After the first few days my vision was so sharpened it was as if I were looking at the world through a crystal glass. It’s impossible to describe the changes that took place in my thinking and my emotions during the fast. I can only say that the world looked different. I realized that there was so much beauty around me which I had continued to miss. Fasting made me stop and think, stop and feel. I found delight in the simplest of things—just sitting under a tree, washing vegetables, or combing my hair. Everything seemed important. I found I wanted to do everything with real awareness. I also gained a sense of distance from my own problems, enabling me to make the decisions facing me calmly and quietly. As a result, since then, whenever I feel myself hung-up over something or whenever I sense I’m not seeing things clearly, I will quietly fast—often just for a day or two until I feel clear again. To some people this may seem an eccentricity, but not, I believe, to anyone who has actually tried fasting. DAYS ON DAYS OFF The buzz now, however, is intermittent fasting. This form of fasting has many faces. Some are better than others. The most lauded at the moment is where you spend two or more days a week drinking water while during the rest of the week you eat “normally” either with or without a very low calorie diet for the purpose of losing weight. The right kind of fast, while eating the right kind of foods, is indeed capable of facilitating weight loss provided you are capable of following it religiously for several weeks, while your body shifts from a glucose-based metabolism to a fat-based metabolism. But, even with the best will in the world, very few people can carry out this exacting procedure for long enough to allow this important metabolic transformation to take place. The second problem with days-on-days-off fasting is that it tends to precipitate binge eating during eating days. Few people understand that if you want to benefit from the experience you must rigorously fast when you are meant to be fasting and avoid binge eating on the days when you do eat. It’s essential, too, that you alter the kind of foods you eat if you want good results both in terms of weight loss and enhanced health for the future. MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE The other way to practice intermittent fasting works much better. It is a lot easier to carry out and protects your body from unnecessary strain. Here’s how it works: Instead of the day-on-day-off practice, commit yourself to eating only during a specific window of time—say 8 hours— each and every day. This is convenient and do-able for almost anybody, and it protects you from bingeing. You do all your eating between, say, 11am and 7pm and have no food or drinks except clean water and herb teas in between. For example, you skip breakfast and make lunch your first meal of the day, and you don’t eat anything after 7pm that evening. How does it all work? It takes from six to eight hours for your body to burn stored glycogen in your tissues after eating carbohydrate foods. Once this happens, your system starts to turn towards fat as its primary fuel. After a few weeks of this time-restricted fasting, food cravings that may have dogged you for eons are likely to have disappeared. (And you can take organic coconut oil which is rich in short-chain fatty acids which are quickly broken down to deal with any food cravings.) But you absolutely must be choosy about the foods you eat during the hours that you are eating. Download my little book Healthy and Lean For Life to learn more about what kind of foods protect from weight gain, foster natural weight loss and create powerful protection from degenerative diseases. It is free on the home page of www.curaromana.com in the lower right-hand corner. SPONTANEOUS INTERMITTENT FASTING So natural a procedure is fasting that in some cases it can happen spontaneously. By the time most Cura Romana participants have completed 24 days on the Essential Spray+Food Plan part of their program, and are ready to move into Consolidation, they are already fasting intermittently. At this point in their program the body has been taken through a process of deep cleansing. Food cravings have long since disappeared. Control centers for appetite, emotions, and hormones are functioning well so their food preferences are now excellent. Quite spontaneously most participants choose to skip breakfast. They say they love the vital, empty feel this brings them. They don’t need to be taught how to do intermittent fasting, they just do it. What has happened to them is that their bodies have already become adapted to burning fat instead of glucose for energy. Unnatural hunger is gone and sugar addictions no longer exist. HEALTH PAYOFFS The benefits of this kind of intermittent fasting are many. The procedure of incorporating this practice into your life becomes easy and natural. It is the start of a new way of living and eating that helps protect us from degenerative conditions long into the future. Here are just a few of the benefits it brings: Insulin sensitivity increases. So does the efficiency of mitochondrial energy, helping to slow aging and disease. Stress resistance improves dramatically. Oxidative stress diminishes since the body’s proteins, nucleic acids and lipids are protected from much free radical damage. Next week we can delve further into fasting—intermittent and otherwise. We’ll look in greater depths at the powerful therapeutic potentials it can have for weight loss, metabolic improvements, even as an effective treatment for mental and emotional disorders. We’ll examine its spiritual dimensions as well as its advantages and disadvantages. Then we’ll clarify who should and who should not fast. See you then.

The worst health offenders in children's diets are processed sweets made from refined sugar. Not only are they bad for teeth, they can cause more serious problems in children such as subclinical deficiencies or hyperactivity, and in adults can contribute to the development of degenerative diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and coronary heart disease. However, trying to get children to give them up is like pulling teeth from a hippopotamus. Far better to give them a wholesome alternative to replace those chocolate bars, biscuits and cakes. Here are some recipes for fruit desserts and all sorts of sweet treats, each made from nutritious ingredients - nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut, carob and honey - which can be served at tea time with one of our delicious shakes or smoothies, or taken to school in a lunch box to snack on. They are as tasty as they are wholesome, and they are uncooked to supply your child with the highest level of  life order possible. Use them for tea and for snacks and parties. sorbets The easiest way to make sorbets is with a sorbetière - a special machine which stirs the sorbet or ice cream as it freezes it. I have survived for many years without one by improvising... orange sorbet Juice 6 oranges and then combine in a food processor with 2 juicy seedless oranges which have been peeled and quartered. Add enough honey or natural stevia to sweeten, and some nutmeg or ginger if desired. I sometimes like to add a grated peach or two to give the sorbet texture. Pour the mixture into ice-cube trays or a plastic lunch-box type container and freeze. Remove from the freezer and leave to thaw slightly for about ten minutes. Blend the mixture again immediately before serving, and spoon into glass dishes or into empty halved orange shells. strawberry or blackberry sorbet Combine 3 cups berries with 2 bananas and a little honey. Follow the method as above. The bananas give a creamy texture to the sorbet. carob and honey ice cream This recipe is one of my family's favorites. The combination of carob and honey I find unbeatable. 2 pints (about a liter) milk (we use goat's) 2 egg yolks 3 tbsp granular lecithin (optional but very nice since it gives a creamier texture) 1 cup unheated carob powder 1/2 cup clear honey 1 tsp pure vanilla essence We use goat's milk but raw cow's milk is good - if you can get it - or sheep's milk or buffalo milk.  Sheep's milk makes wonderful drinks and desserts, and it usually comes in a convenient powder. Freeze the milk in a low flat plastic container. When frozen, remove from the freezer and let sit for about half an hour until it is just soft enough to slice into pieces. Put the egg yolks into the food processor, add about a cup of the frozen milk, the lecithin, carob powder, honey and vanilla, and blend thoroughly using the blade attachment. Add the rest of the frozen milk and continue to blend until it is just mixed. (Don't overblend or you will make the ice cream too liquid.) Should it become too liquid simply return to the freezer for a few minutes then stir before serving. Serve immediately. cherry whip (for 1) 1 cup natural yogurt 1/2 cup pitted black cherries 2 tsp honey or natural stevia to taste Double cream (optional) Blend the yogurt, cherries and honey or stevia and pour into a tall glass. Top with a spoonful of double cream and garnish with a pair of cherries hung over the edge of the glass. As a variation, use strawberries or raspberries instead of cherries. raspberry fruit freeze pie There are many variations that can be made on this theme - using different berries and fruit to fill the pie base. pie base: 1 cup pitted dried dates 1/2  cup almonds 1/2  cup oat flakes 1 tsp honey or natural stevia to taste A little water Grind the dates and almonds as finely as possible in a food processor. Add the oats, honey (or stevia) and a little water and blend again. You need to add the water slowly to get the right consistency. You want the mixture to bind but not be sticky. Remove the base from the processor in a ball and flatten it into a pie dish with your fingers. As a variation you can add a tablespoon or two of coconut. pie filling: 2 bananas 2 cups raspberries Sherry Honey or natural stevia to sweeten Peel the bananas and chop into pieces about an inch or so thick. Freeze in a polythene bag with the raspberries until firm. Remove from freezer and blend the fruits together with a dash of sherry and a little honey or stevia to sweeten if desired. Pour into the pie crust and serve immediately, garnished with a few banana slices or raspberries. strawberries and cashew cream Make your own non-dairy `cream' from cashew nuts, and pour it over a bowl of ripe fresh strawberries (or any other fruit). cashew cream 1 cup nuts 1/2  cup water or orange juice 1-2 tsp honey or natural stevia to taste Nutmeg Blend the nuts and liquid as finely as possible in the blender or processor. Add a little honey, or stevia, and nutmeg and use as a topping for any fruit. sweet treats These attractive little sweets can be wrapped in colored paper and given in boxes as gifts for Easter, Christmas, etc. 1 cup mixture of almonds and hazelnuts 1 cup mixed dried fruit (such as date and apricot, peach and raisin, or sultana and pear 1 tbsp honey or natural stevia to taste Juice of 1 orange or 3 cups apple juice, dash of orange liqueur (optional), coconut flakes and sesame seeds. Put the nuts and the dried fruit in the food processor and chop thoroughly. Add the honey or stevia and enough fruit juice to make the mixture bind, plus a dash of orange liqueur if desired. Remove from the processor and roll into spheres the size of large marbles. Sprinkle a plate with the coconut flakes (toasted if desired) and sesame seeds and roll the balls in either one or both. Chill in the fridge and serve on a platter decorated with fresh fruit. rocky road bananas This is a great recipe if you have too many ripe bananas on your hands. Once frozen, the bananas will keep for weeks - unless they are eaten immediately as in my house! 4 ripe bananas 1/2 -1 cup coarsely ground Brazil nuts Honey Simply peel the bananas and skewer onto kebab or ice lolly sticks. Roll in honey and then in chopped nuts. Put on a freezer-proof plate and freeze until hard. Eat straight from the stick. If you prefer you can first slice the bananas crosswise, coat in honey and sprinkle with nuts, then freeze to make bite-sized treats. As a variation try mixing a few tablespoons of carob powder into the honey to make chocolate coated bananas and then roll them in coconut, dates or nuts...or all three! yogurt lollies The best ice-lollies are homemade. You can buy ice-lolly molds and sticks in most department stores. Mix a large bowl of plain yogurt with some frozen concentrated orange juice, then pour the mixture into the lolly molds and freeze. You can also add fresh fruit and honey to natural yogurt and blend it together to use, or simply freeze fresh fruit juices such as orange, grape, apple and pineapple. refrigerator cookies 1 cup rolled oats 1/4-1/2 cup blanched almonds 3 tbsp almond or cashew butter or 1/3 cup ground almonds 1-2 tbsp honey Handful of raisins Handful of dates 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 tsp cinnamon Pinch of allspice Finely grind the almonds, raisins and dates in the food processor. Add the nut butter, honey, vanilla and spices and combine well. Mix the oats with the rest of the ingredients. Form the mixture into flat cookie shapes in the palms of your hands (you may need to add a few drops of water) and place on a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm. carob fudge Once chilled, these wonderful fudge balls have the texture of ordinary fudge, and their carob flavor makes them ideal chocolate substitutes. 1 cup sesame seeds 1/2 cup dried coconut 1/2 cup carob powder 1 tsp honey 1/2 tsp vanilla essence Grind the seeds very finely in the food processor. Add the other ingredients and process again. Form the mixture into little balls and chill. sunflower snacks 1/2  cup sunflower seeds 1/2  cup carob powder 1/4 tsp cinnamon A little apple juice Finely grind the sunflower seeds and mix with the carob and cinnamon. Add a few drops of apple juice, just enough to make the mixture bind. Form into a roll about 1in/2.5cm thick, chill and then slice. Alternatively, break off little bits and press them into coin-size wafers and chill.

Did you realize that as of this moment, half of the seafood in the world no longer comes from wild oceans and rivers but from fish farm? This is not only salmon but hundreds of other fish, which are now farmed. And the number of fish farms continue to rise exponentially. So what? So lots of things! Fish farming corporations hide the inconvenient truths about how their fish are raised, what they are fed, and the dangers that aquaculture brings not only to wild fish who share the same seas as their contaminated brothers but also to we humans who unknowingly buy and consume farmed fish. Let's start here: Farmed salmon and all other farmed fish often spread diseases they carry to the populations of our wild fish. How? Farmed fish continue to break through barriers erected to contain them threatening the wild fish gene pool and spreading bio-pollution that is irreversible. Norway has the greatest concentration of fish farms in the world. The Norwegian Health Department recently issued a warning to their population that they should not eat too much farmed salmon. Dr. Anne-Lise Birch Monsen from the University of Bergen is outspoken about the high level of contaminants present in farm-raised fish including salmon. Contaminants that build up in farmed fish then spread environmental pollution into the waters surrounding the fish farms causing damage to wild fish in the waters nearby. Six years ago Russia banned Norwegian farmed salmon from sale because it contains large amounts of cadmium and lead. These heavy metals and other poisonous substances come from the feed farmed fish are given. They flood into the sea contaminating the waters where our wild fish live. Wild caught Alaskan salmon who for millinia have swum in our rivers and seas have thrived on what Mother Nature provided them with: healthy fats, micronutrients, vitamins and antioxidants including natural astaxanthin. It is this astaxanthin that turns a wild salmon's flesh its beautiful red color which helps keep us healthy when we eat them. For years, ecologists have been warning people to stay away from farmed salmon and the carnivorous "fish meal" filled with junk materials that are full of it. This includes oil of anchovies which carries polychlorinated biphenyls known as PCBs. These and other toxic chemicals pollute not only farmed fish but our own bodies when we by farmed fish. Viruses, parasites, banned chemicals, and antibiotics carry dangerous consequences both for us and for the natural marine species who still inhabit the oceans. Wild salmon are the vegetarians of the sea. They eat only plankton, krill, and algae. Near the end of their life they are ready to make their perilous way upstream, returning to the place of their birth to spawn and die. They will have spent all but this final five percent of their life in the freedom of the open ocean. Yet as of now an astounding ninety-nine percent of farmed salmon are penned and held within rivers that wild salmon swim up in from the open ocean to lay their eggs and spawn. Excess fish farm feed floats into the water surrounding the farm. As well as genetically engineered ingredients, farm feeds also contains antibiotics and chemical additives, pesticides, and feces from the farmed fish that massively contaminate wild salmon and other fish in the waters surrounding farms. Farmed fish are notorious for carrying diseases and spreading them. But ask an aquaculturist about this and he will tell you nothing about this. When I contacted some well-known fish farms, requesting that they provide me with a list of ingredients in their fish foods, all of them refused. One kind man, who shall remain nameless, dared to whisper the truth. "It has to be kept hush, hush. If the public knew what they were eating, they would stop buying farmed fish altogether—including farmed salmon." How do you know that you are buying real wild fish incljuding “wild salmon? It is not easy. Half of the salmon available in the United States, twice that much in the Uk and virtually all the salmon sold in New Zealand is farmed not wild. There is a tremendous amount of mislabling taking place in stores more than 80% of what is labeled “wild” is in truth farmed salmon. In truth, as Time Magazine discovered last year, “More than 2,500 tons of the food eaten in the United States is fake.” Meanwhile 30% of shrimp present as “wild” are actuallly farmed, 87% of fish labeled “snapper” and are something else, and the deception continues to grow.