functional food

There are many other powerful helpers readily available to give a hand with banishing cellulite. Some of my favorites are: The Cactus Connection Another powerful adjunct to breaking down cellulite and keeping your system clean is drinking the biogenic—life generating—juice of the aloe vera plant. Aloe vera is a beautiful cactus. Used externally, you will find nothing better than pure aloe vera juice as a base for your own anti-cellulite treatment (see below). Used internally, it appears to help detoxify the body in general, enhance digestion so that wastes do not build up in the system, and improve the quality of micro-organisms in the large intestine, which help protect immunity and keep the body clean. But it is useful against cellulite in other ways as well, thanks to its being rich in proteolytic enzymes. These enzymes appear to help with the breakdown of necrotic, hardened, protein-based connective tissue that is essential to eliminating cellulite, although that remains to be proven. It has, though, been recently discovered that aloe vera juice enhances the development of capillaries and circulation in general, reduces water retention and inflammation, and speeds up cellular reproduction in skin. In order to make use of aloe vera’s healing properties, you either have to use the juice fresh from the cut leaves of a cactus which is at least four years old, or it has to be carefully processed at extremely low temperatures to preserve its biogenic properties. Find the best aloe vera juice you can, keep it refrigerated and use it within a month. While beating cellulite, take a small glass of pure low-heat processed aloe vera juice on rising, between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner, as well as just before you go to bed. Silica Silica plays an essential role in the development and maintenance of cellulite-free flesh. When there is an adequate supply in your body, this brings a high level of support to the metabolic pathways responsible for the production of strong new collagen, elastin and ground substance in skin. A woman’s daily requirement of silica is rather high, at 20-30mg. Organic matter in the soils should, by rights, break down readily available inorganic silica in the ground and render it available to us through the foods we eat. Unfortunately, high-tech farming methods have destroyed much organic matter in our foods, so that our fruits and vegetables are now depleted of silica. Modern food processing then tends to remove even the little that is left. As you get older, the amount of silica present in your body decreases year by year. There is only one, extremely rich source of organic silica known to man: horsetail. Never take powdered horsetail, as it is extremely irritating to the intestines and very little of it will be absorbed by your body. Find a good natural organic silica supplement instead. Most women notice a difference to their hair and nails within 3 to 6 weeks of beginning to take between 2 and 6 tablets of organic silica a day. The benefits on the inside to connective tissue will be happening at the same rate. Plants from the Depths Another source of plant complexes particularly useful in banishing cellulite and re-establishing good body ecology is the sea. All seaweeds—from kelp to dulse, to nori and kombu—are rich in the minerals which your body’s metabolic processes require to function properly. A good supplement of sea plants which have been collected from unpolluted waters and then ‘atomized’, or broken into very fine particles, can offer another source of important metabolic support on any anti-cellulite regimen. Seaweeds tend to have very hard cells walls, and unless these plants are extracted or their cell walls are exploded, much of the metabolic treasure they contain remain unavailable to the body. They are also, of course, delicious to eat. Buy them dried and crumble them onto soups and salads. DIY Cellulite Lotion The active ingredients in the best of the cellulite creams, lotions and oils include a number of potent herbal extracts to help enhance circulation, encourage fat burning, restore integrity to damaged capillaries, decrease water-logging and improve firmness. They include things like silica derivatives, free-form amino acids, herbal extracts from butcher’s broom to horsetail, and even caffeine, which, when applied in the right form to the surface of the skin, has been shown to stimulate fat burning. All of these products need to work with a whole body program, and most of them are expensive. You can make one of your own at a fraction of the cost. It is true it won’t have a sweet cosmetic smell like the others and, because it contains herbal extracts which are brown in color, you will need to be careful not to stain the white bathroom rug when applying it. But it works a treat. Here’s how Take 1 small bottle of aloe vera liquid (350ml). Add to it 25ml of liquid extract of fucus vesculosus and 25ml of kola liquid extract. Shake well. Keep refrigerated. Apply twice a day to cellulite-prone areas of the body after a bath or shower, then, using one of the special anti-cellulite gloves, mits or rollers available in most pharmacies, gently go over those areas of your body.

An exotic herb which grows in subtropical areas of South America, stevia is replete with non caloric sugary molecules. This is the reason for its sweet flavor. Stevia has sweetened herbal drinks since pre-Columbian times. Its properties were first recorded by a botanist named Antonio Bertoni in 1887, who wrote about ways the natives of Paraguay used it. Others have discovered stevia in the past fifty years and made good use of it. Japan and the United States have done extensive research and safety testing on the plant. Their research shows that this marvelous sweet herb is non-toxic, safe for diabetics and beneficial for weightloss as well as daily use for yourself and family. More good news: Stevia is not a source of nutrition for bacteria in the mouth nor for yeasts and fungi such as Candida Albicans in the body. A few years ago, following some rather bogus animal research promoted by Monsanto — who produce much of the artificial sweeteners in the world — the European Parliament banned the sale of stevia in Britain and Europe. There is much pressure at the moment to lift that ban. In the meantime, if you live in the EU, you can, without difficulty, order stevia online from herbal shops, either in your own country or another European country, including the UK. It is widely available in shops and stores in the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand and most other countries of the world. Stevia is great for all sorts of reasons on Cura Romana Spoonable Stevia By Stevita: 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. Order Spoonable Stevia By Stevita from iherb ENGLISH TOFFEE 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. Order English Toffee Stevia from iherb ORDERING FROM IHERB.COM: If you decide to order any products from Iherb.com, you will automatically receive $5 or $10 off your first order. Their products are the cheapest and best in the world…I use them for everything no matter where I am. Get it sent to you via DHL. It will be with you in three to four working days… iHerb.com ship all over the world very cheaply. IMPORTANT - Do not be fooled by the artificially made Stevia products such as Truvia and Purevia. These products are not the natural Stevia plant. To learn more read my post here called beware of Truvia.

I never met a vegetable I didn’t like. Of course, it took me a while to realize this. Like a lot of people, I grew up fed on mushy Brussels sprouts, canned spinach and revolting beetroot salads, as well as other nameless horrors served in truck drivers’ cafes and as school meals. Only when I began to make vegetable juices, exuberant salads and cook my own vegetables did I discover just how delicious vegetables can be in their many incarnations. For a long time, cooked vegetables have had a bad rap. Some of this is the result of our not being able to buy an abundance of good quality organic vegetables. As a result, most of us have come to think of vegetables as flavorless things which everyone knows you’re supposed to eat because they’re good for you, but nobody can face them. When vegetables are cooked properly, they have a marvelous flavor of their own. LIFE FORCE CAN BE YOURS From the humble turnip to the leaves of radiccio, vegetables are superb sources of light energy form the sun—the same light from which your living body is made. Their beauty is the beauty of life force itself. When they have been grown in healthy soils and eaten either raw or with as little cooking as possible, this energy becomes your energy—an energy which can’t be measured in chemical terms but its potential for enhancing health exceeds even that of phytonutrients themselves. Steam vegetables, stir-fry them, bake them, purée them, eat them raw—however you go, vegetables are not only one of the most important food groups in relation to health; they are some of the most delicious. BEYOND ANTI-OXIDANTS Low in calories and riddled with fiber, certified organic vegetables are rich sources of antioxidants from Vitamins C, E and phytochemicals, helping to protect against the free-radical damage that produces degeneration and rapid aging. Not long ago at Tufts University, scientists developed a method of determining the anti-oxidant power of specific fruits and vegetables by measuring their ability to quench free radicals in a laboratory test tube. We can now test a food’s oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Using the ORAC test, we can categorize a fruit or vegetable according to its overall anti-oxidant power. Fruits such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries are at the top of the list, along with vegetables like kale and spinach, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. The antioxidant capacities of a high ORAC fruit or vegetable goes way beyond its vitamin and mineral content. COLOR ME RADIANT By now independent researchers have identified hundreds of health-enhancing phytochemicals to inhibit blood clotting, balance cholesterol, detoxify the body of wastes and poisons, reduce inflammation and allergies and even slow the proliferation of cancer cells. These amazing nutraceuticals, work synergistically. This means that the wider the variety of low-sugar fruits and non-starchy vegetables you eat, the greater will be the protective health-enhancing benefits you. Eat more spinach and leafy greens such as silver beet, kale or collards, and you tap into a rich supply of the carotenoids, zeaxanthin and lutein to help protect your eyes and brain from degeneration. In an interesting study of 356 older people reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that eating good quantities of these leafy green vegetables—the equivalent of a large spinach salad each day—reduced their risk of macular degeneration by 43%. (This is the age-related retinal disease that has you holding a menu three feet away from you in order to read it.) SIGN OF THE CROSS I always think the word “cruciferous” sounds like some kind of a crunchy salad. In fact it is used to identify vegetables, including the brassicas, which get their name from the fact that they carry cross-shaped flower petals. These same vegetables—including bok choy, mustard greens, collards, turnips, swedes, broccoli, kale, cabbage and cauliflower, boast high levels of all sorts of phytochemicals and vitamins, plus special kinds of precious fiber. For a start, they are rich in indoles, especially indole-3-carbinol, which has the remarkable ability to increase your body’s production of detoxifying enzymes. This is one of the reasons why women who eat a lot of the crucifers—four or more times a week— have a very low incidence of cancer of the breast and of the ovaries. Indole-3-carbinol, and probably other plant factors too, in cruciferous vegetables both help clear the body of the forms of estrogen that have a negative effect on it, as well as dramatically decreasing the body’s production of these forms of estrogen. But beware: indoles are highly heat-sensitive. To get the best from them both in flavor and in their health-boosting powers, it is best to eat them raw, lightly steamed or wok-fried. PROTECT YOUR DNA Another study from the Journal of Neuroscience reported that eating a good portion of spinach each day delayed the onset of age-related memory loss. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts, rich in sulforaphane and indoles, protect DNA from damage. Scientists estimate that each of the 60 trillion cells in the human body, each one suffers 10,000 free radical “hits” each day. And this is on the increase as a result of increasing chemicals in our environment. Phytonutrients help protect us from oxidation damage. Eating large quantities of fresh organically grown vegetables is breakthrough stuff when it comes to establishing radiant health. So make friends with the colorful vegetable kingdom. Build your daily meals around them by eating salads, by drinking juices, by cooking them in ways that preserve as much of their innate life-enhancing abilities as possible. So much for the technical stuff. Now, let me share with you a few of my favorite vegetable recipes. Try them and see what you think: perfect purÉes I’ve never been able to figure out why the most common puréed vegetable is mashed potatoes, when there are so many other vegetables, like beetroot, swede, spinach, beans, carrots, and celeriac, which purée equally well. The secret of great vegetable purée lies in what you add to it. You can either cook the vegetables and purée them on their own, or you can mix them together to make bright-colored complements for fish, poultry and meat dishes. One of my favorites is celeriac, which I think goes beautifully with any kind of game or fish. Carrots too make a wonderful purée, as does spinach. Even beetroot, which I think tastes ghastly in its normal boiled form, brings wonderful color and flavor to a meal when puréed and seasoned properly. What You Need 450g of root vegetables 1/2–3/4 cup of organic, sugar free coconut milk 75g of butter 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder 2 cloves of garlic, chopped (optional) 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley A handful of raw cashew nuts Sea or Himalayan salt Freshly-ground black pepper Here’s How Cut off the top and bottom of the vegetables and wash thoroughly, but do not peel, as much of the nutritional value in vegetables is in the skin itself. Slice each vegetable about 1/4 inch thick and cut each slice into 4–8 pieces. Place them in an electric steamer or a steamer pan over boiling water. Steam for 15–20 minutes until they grow tender. Put the cooked vegetables into a food processor or blender. Add the butter, garlic, vegetable bouillon powder, parsley and cashews and blend, adding enough coconut milk to give your purée the consistency you want. This usually takes about 2–3 minutes. Taste and season accordingly. You can make these purées the day before and then gently reheat them with a knob of butter on top. Asparagus A member of the lily family, asparagus was used by the ancient Greeks to treat kidney and liver troubles. It's one of the best natural remedies for PMS-related bloating and a top source of folic acid, the antioxidant glutathione and vitamin C. Not only does asparagus appear in early spring with a very short growing season—which makes it seem ultra-desirable—it is another powerfully healing vegetable. Asparagus has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine as a remedy against indigestion. When researchers compared the therapeutic effect of asparagus with a commonly used drug in the prevention of nausea, hiatus hernia, heartburn and gastric acid reflux, they found that asparagus was just as effective as the common drug remedy, yet had no side effects. Asparagus also has great diuretic properties. It stimulates the digestion and has long been used to alleviate rheumatism and arthritis. And it has sedative properties. When shopping for asparagus, look for bright green, straight, fresh-looking spears with compact tips. Stay away from the woody, stringy or streaked spears and those with spreading tips. These are sure signs that they're not really fresh. Bring the asparagus home and rinse it in cold water. You can use raw asparagus in salads by cutting it into 1/2" pieces, and also as crudités with dips. But the thinner asparagus is better for this. And it must be very fresh and crunchy if you're not going to cook it. Because the tips of asparagus cook much faster than the tails, it's a good idea to steam it in a tall, lidded pan designed specially for that purpose: but don't worry if you don't happen to have one. I like to serve steamed asparagus with wedges of lemon and shaved Parmesan, plus a little garlic salt and pepper. You can also use homemade dips, pestos or mayonnaise including aïoli and serve asparagus hot or cold. BAKED ASPARAGUS serves 4 to 6 I love baked asparagus. This recipe makes a great starter to a formal meal, but I like to eat it on its own as a meal in itself. What You Need 3 dozen organic asparagus spears, trimmed and peeled if necessary 2–6 tablespoons of melted butter Sea salt or Himalayan Salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste 1 lemon, divided into 6 wedges Here's How Place the asparagus side by side in a flat, rectangular baking dish and drizzle wipe with butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid or with foil. Then bake at 225ºC (430ºF, Gas Mark 7) for 20–30 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the asparagus – that is until the spears are browned and tender. Add a little extra melted butter just before serving if it is needed, and a wedge of lemon to each plate. This can be served warm or cold. snow pea AND ALMOND STIR FRY A great combination of crunchy almonds and delicate green mange tout, or snow peas. What You Need 250g of snow peas 2 tablespoons coconut oil or boiled-down soup stock 50g of almond slivers, toasted or raw 125g of mushrooms 1 teaspoon of tamari 1” finger of fresh ginger, shredded fine Here’s How Top and tail the snow peas. Heat the oil or boiled-down stock in a wok or large frying pan. When hot, add the almonds and ginger and stir fry for 3–5 minutes. Now add the remaining ingredients and continue to stir fry for another 2–3 minutes. Serve immediately. Other Ways to Go Great candidates for stir frying include Chinese cabbage with cashews, sprouts with tofu, carrots with fresh parsley, cabbage and onions. Do try some of my favorite recipes and let me know how you get on with them. Also, please let me know if you have any other of your own wonderful vegetable recipes you want to share with us.

In the next few minutes, I want to share with you the real cause of most food addictions. First let me tell you, they are not your fault. I’ve spent 7 years mentoring men and women throughout the world to shed excess fat and keep it off permanently. During this period, I made an astounding discovery about the common reason for almost all uncontrollable food cravings, as well as what you can do to end the suffering they can bring. First, a word of warning: What you will learn in the next few minutes may well blow your mind. Addictive eating makes you feel powerless. You’ve been taught to hate yourself for being “weak willed”. You feel at the mercy of some force that seems impossible to resist. So you go on and off slimming regimes, take diet pills, lose weight temporarily only to gain it back soon afterwards. OK. It’s time to lay aside all your guilt, shame and self-criticism, as well as the fear that you have some kind of “emotional eating disorder.” To my amazement, what I have found out is this: an inability to control appetite no matter how hard you try is triggered by monstrous visitors from the underworld who have invaded your body. Food addictions, cravings, hopelessness and self-recrimination are the result of an overgrowth of Candida albicans. These are parasitic yeasts and fungi. These strange and powerful organisms feed on sugar as well as anything you eat that turns into sugar. This includes grains, cereals, fast foods, and convenience foods—all of which they thrive on. The goal of Candida is to control your body so they get their sugar fix. Next time you find yourself craving that piece of cake or reaching for a sugary drink, stop and remember this. It is not YOU who is craving that piece of cake or chocolate. It’s the yeasty beasties who are after sugar in any form for their continued survival in your body. Amazing? It certainly amazed me to learn this fact. Then, I spent two years learning about the behavior of these darkly hidden organisms, whose numbers are legion, and discovering how to help you clear them from your body. More about this in a moment. When Candida invades your body en masse, it distorts brain functions and can produce endless miseries. It screws up your emotions. It can even undermine your sense of personal power, so that you don’t feel you’re in control of your life. The chemical products that Candida pours into your body through the fermentation process by which it lives and spreads contain high levels of ethanol—plain old alcohol. This is why there are many cases on record of people who do not drink alcohol, yet live in a state of drunkenness which alters thought patterns, disturbs consciousness and creates many emotional and physical disorders. When the alcohol produced by Candida begins to break down in your body, this produces acetaldehyde—a chemical six times more toxic to the brain than ethanol itself. Acetaldehyde insidiously interferes with brain functions, causing damage to neurological structures. Let me share with you just a few of the symptoms experts have connected with an overgrowth of Candida albicans: Weight gain Chronic fatigue from impaired metabolism Brain and nervous system dysfunction Self-blame, shame, guilt and fear Headaches Poor memory, fuzzy thinking, inebriation Heart problems—rapid pulse rate, palpitations Vaginitis and lack of bladder control—which can lead to frequent urination, itchy rashes and vaginal thrush Stomach troubles: diarrhea, bloating and gas, gastritis, gastric ulcers, constipation Allergic reactions of many kinds Until the past decade, few doctors believed that Candida could invade the body’s tissues. Now we know it can do this with ease. Like every primitive microorganism, Candida has a powerful will to survive. It can breach normal defence systems to enter through skin and digestive tract, decrease the level of protective white blood cells, and invade the deep tissues of the body including the bloodstream. Medical tests for Candida are notoriously unreliable, and medical diagnosis of chronic Candidiasis is virtually impossible to make. Few physicians as yet even understand it. It is the body’s biological terrain that has to be restored to health for you to eliminate Candida from your system. This is what an effective anti-Candida program must do for you. Once this happens, all the addictive eating for which you have wrongly blamed yourself for causing is gone. The feeling of freedom and renewed self-esteem that this brings can be nothing less than life-changing. With the help of men and women whom I worked with on fat loss, I tested out dozens of anti-Candida supplements. In the process I found only one which I can recommend for everyone. It is low in cost and non-aggressive but highly effective. Now here is the catch. It takes time. Candida is so persistent that you must take 2 capsules of this nutritional supplement at lunch and two at dinner each and every day without fail, over a period of 3 to 6 months, to clear it from your system. During this period you must also stay away from convenience foods, breads, cereals and grains, all of which turn into sugar when you eat them. You need to increase the green vegetables that you eat and you must stay away from sugary fruits, fruit drinks, and sugar itself in any form. It can be a challenge. The good news is that, as Candida clears from your body, the increase in energy, wellbeing, self-confidence and loss of excess fat people experience brings with it an unparalleled experience of freedom and self-respect that is even hard to describe. To learn more about the monstrous and mysterious Candida, click on the links below here. 1. Are You Addicted To Food 2. End Food Cravings - Part 2 3. Radiant Health Restored - Part 3 In the meantime, let me share with you what I find to be the most gentle, effective and inexpensive natural nutritional supplement for clearing a Candida infestation. One last word: Patience. Remember, it can take three or more months, taking 2 capsules of this supplement at lunch and at dinner each and every day without fail. The transformation this kind of clearing can bring about is well worth the effort. Candida Support As a dietary supplement, take 2 capsules twice daily with food. Consider taking these other NOW products: Oregano Oil Softgels, Virgin Coconut Oil and Probiotic Defense. Order Candida Support from iherb

Sexual impotence—a loss of ability to maintain a full erection—affects most men at some time in their lives. It can be the result of feeling unwelcome, afraid of your own power, or experiencing a sense of inadequacy or depression about yourself. Such feelings strongly influence the behavior of your body. And when you can develop real awareness of how your lover feels, with patience and consideration, psychologically-caused impotence will often clear by itself. Other difficulties in maintaining an erection can be biochemical in nature. In men over the age of 35, this often happens during periods of prolonged stress, after illness, or simply as a result of having lived for too long on convenience foods, so your body has become depleted in essential minerals, trace elements and vitamins. When you have eaten like this, many of your metabolic processes no longer work properly. Then it’s time to make some serious changes in the way you are eating, and keep your alcohol intake to a minimum. In the meantime, there are a number of effective plants for heightening your sexual energy: Mucuna Dopa Mucuna Dopa—this is a powerful Ayurvedic herb, also known as velvet herb. A potent extract from the Mucuna pruriens seed, it heightens brain function, libido and muscle growth. It contains high concentrations of L-Dopa, a neurotransmitter which prompts a positive mental state of action and assertiveness. These are a few of the reasons Mucuna Dopa is an effective sexual enhancer for men. Start by taking one 166mg capsule between meals (containing 100mg of L-Dopa). Never take more than 6 a day and do not use if you are taking MAO inhibitors or any prescription drugs without first getting permission from your medical practitioner. Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo biloba—not only boosts the flow of blood to the brain and enhances memory; it can increase circulation to the penis. The best way to take it for this purpose is in the form of a concentrated 24% standardized extract capsule, once or twice a day. Do not take more, since in large quantities gingko can cause loose bowels and irritability. One research project gave men 80 milligrams of gingko extract three times a day, with excellent results. It not only cleared impotence, it lifted the depression which often accompanies it. You can also get a ginkgo tincture: 1 teaspoon in a little water twice a day. Horny goat weed Horny goat weed—has been known for 2000 years in traditional Chinese medicine to enhance both male and female libido. It increases blood circulation to the genitals. A study carried out in 2008 indicated that it can be as effective as Viagra but without the dangerous side-effects. One 1 gram tablet daily between meals is the usual recommended dose. Fava beans Fava beans—can have an astounding effect on an erection. The first written record of this food’s sexual benefits comes from ancient Rome, where Cicero used it to increase his own passion. Fava is also a good natural source of L-dopa (used to treat Parkinson’s disease). It intensifies erections in many men, which is how fava got its reputation. One way to use fava beans is to make soup from them. Whatever products you buy it is essential that they are top quality and organic. Be warned, there are lots of cheap imitations which do not deliver on their promises. See below for my recommendations. Source Naturals, Mucuna Dopa Mucuna Dopa uses a potent extract of the Mucuna pruriens seed which assists in brain function, libido and supporting muscle growth. Order Source Naturals, Mucuna Dopa from iherb Paradise Herbs, Ginkgo Biloba Paradise Ginkgo is a potent 50:1 concentrated extract of the highest quality nature has to offer. Using a 100% natural extraction method the true essence and breadth of the whole herb is captured Order Paradise Herbs, Ginkgo Biloba from iherb Planetary Herbals, Horny Goat Weed Epimedium is one of the most valued tonics of Chinese herbalism. In China it is especially used for supporting healthy sexual activity - thus its name, Horny Goat Weed Order Planetary Herbals, Horny Goat Weed from iherb Bob's Red Mill, Fava Beans For over 5,000 years, Fava Beans have been enjoyed as a delicious source of protein, fiber and iron. Similar in taste and texture to lima beans Order Bob's Red Mill, Fava Beans from iherb Dragon Herbs, Siberian Ginseng, Super Potency Extract This is a potent formula, made from the finest Chinese herbs, to enhance your adaptability and daily Qi. Order Dragon Herbs, Siberian Ginseng from iherb

Make them the base for salads, add them at the last minute to homemade soups, even carry them around with you in a bag and eat them instead of chocolate bars and biscuits. They are sweet and delicious and won’t leave you with an energy slump. There are many different seeds you can sprout - each with its own particular flavor and texture. Use the following chart as a guide to the variety of sprouts you can try. Seeds Soak time To Yield 1 liter Ready to eat in Length of shoot Growing tips and notes Alfalfa 6-8 hours 3-4 tbsp 5-6 days 3.5 cm 1½ in Rich in organic vitamins and minerals Seeds Soak time To Yield 1 liter Ready to eat in Length of shoot Growing tips and notes Fenugreek 6-8 hours ½ cup 3-4 days 1 cm½ in Have quite a strong ‘curry’ taste. Good for ridding the body of toxins Seeds Soak time To Yield 1 liter Ready to eat in Length of shoot Growing tips and notes Adzuki beans 10-15 hours 1½ cups 3-5 days 2.5-3.5 cm 1-1½ in Have a nutty flavor. Especially good for the kidneys Seeds Soak time To Yield 1 liter Ready to eat in Length of shoot Growing tips and notes Chickpeas 10-15 hours 2 cups 3-4 days 2.5 cm 1 in May need to soak for 18 hrs to swell to their full size. Replace the water during this time Seeds Soak time To Yield 1 liter Ready to eat in Length of shoot Growing tips and notes Lentils 10-15 hours 1 cup 3-5 days 0.5-2.5cm ¼–1 in Try all different kinds of lentils. They are good eaten young or up to 6 days old Seeds Soak time To Yield 1 liter Ready to eat in Length of shoot Growing tips and notes Mung beans 10-15 hours 1 cup 3-5 days 1-5 cm ½-2½ in Soak at least 15 hours. Keep in the dark for a sweet sprout Seeds Soak time To Yield 1 liter Ready to eat in Length of shoot Growing tips and notes Sunflower seeds 10-15 hours 4 cups 1-2 days Same length as seed Soak them and sprout for just a day. Bruise easily so handle carefully Seeds Soak time To Yield 1 liter Ready to eat in Length of shoot Growing tips and notes Wheat 12-15 hours 2 cups 2-3 days Same length as grain An excellent source of the B vitamins. The soak water can be drunk straight or added to soups or juices

If you want a clear mind and uplifted spirit – and who doesn’t – not to mention energy, drinking raw juice each day is a great step in the right direction. It is an excellent way to clear a cold, banish a hangover and even clear the pain of arthritis (provided of course you've not been on long-term drug therapy which can sometimes interfere with the body’s ability to detoxify and heal itself). Juice is a perfect fuel for your body. Its high water content means that it is easily assimilated and tends to cleanse and nurture the body, and it is the richest available source of vitamins, minerals, plant factors such as the carotenoids, and other antioxidants powerful in their anti-aging and immune enhancing factors. Not only is raw juice the best possible tonic for promoting all-round health and general well-being, each juice has specific therapeutic properties. You can use it as a quick fix to treat a range of common complaints. Try some of the following and see what powerhouses for healing they really are. Aim to drink at least three glasses of juice each day, but try to make them freshly each time. If you really have to keep them then put them in the fridge with as much ice in them as you can. Fresh juices oxidize and lose their potency very, very quickly. When juicing, always buy fruits and vegetables that have been organically grown, not only because you don’t want to be taking in pesticides and herbicides with your juice, but because organic fruits and vegetables have not had their nutritional integrity compromised and you will get the best vitamin, mineral and trace element content. Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have been successfully treated with juice therapy, which is particularly beneficial if the patient has not been on long-term drug treatment. In both osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, cut out foods from the nightshade family such as potatoes, aubergine, tomatoes and peppers. For osteoarthritis, also cut out citrus fruits. Vegetables to incorporate into your juices include carrot, beetroot tops, broccoli, turnip, grapes, kale, cabbage, all dark green vegetables, apple and ginger. Pineapple is particularly good for rheumatoid arthritis since it contains the enzyme bromelin which has anti-inflammatory properties. ginger berry 1 (or more) 1cm cube of fresh ginger 1 medium bunch of grapes 2 cups blackberries or raspberries You can also add some sparkling mineral water, or some ice. green goddess 60ml (2 fl oz) of carrot juice 60ml (2 fl oz) of apple juice 60ml (2 fl oz) of beetroot juice 60ml (2 fl oz) of broccoli juice ½ tsp kelp powder ½ - 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley A squeeze of fresh lemon juice. green wow 2 green apples 4 stalks of celery 6 Chinese leaves Juice of 10cm of cucumber pineamint 1 small pineapple (skin removed) A bunch of fresh mint leaves pineapple green To 180ml (6 fl oz) of freshly extracted pineapple juice add one or more of the following: 1 tsp – 1 tbsp of powdered wheat grass, green barley, spirulina or chlorella. popeye punch 1 whole apple – including seeds 4 or 5 carrots A small handful of spinach 1 cucumber red genius 4 carrots 1 large raw beetroot 3cm section of cucumber sprouting o’ the green 2 cups of alfalfa sprouts 2 cups of mung beans 1 carrot A few sprigs of parsley 2 apples top of the beet 1 apple 5 carrots 3 leaves of beetroot top A handful of parsley Colds Juicing for colds has two goals. The first is to strengthen the immune system, and for this you need lots of greens. The second is elimination, and for this you need those fruits and vegetables which help to get rid of waste from your system – lemons, apricots, garlic, ginger etc. atomic liftoff 4-6 ripe tomatoes 1 lime A pinch of cayenne pepper or dash of tabasco Juice the tomatoes and lime then sprinkle with cayenne or Tabasco beetroot, carrot & orange 1 smallish beet 4 carrots 1 orange pineapple grapefruit drink 1 small pineapple (peeled) 1 grapefruit (peeled) salad juice 4-5 carrots 4 sticks celery 3-4 radishes sweet & spicy 2 whole apples 2x1cm cube fresh ginger ½ small pineapple cut into convenient sized spears. liver and digestion Cabbage juice tends to benefit most digestive upsets. It’s not exactly delicious and it can be helpful to mix it with pineapple juice to soften the flavor. Ginger is also good for digestion, and bananas have been shown to help protect the stomach from excess hydrochloric acid. gingeroo 1 (or more) 1cm cube of fresh ginger 1 whole apple 4 carrots pineappage ¼ large pineapple cut into spears 1/3 green cabbage red genius (see above) fatigue Fatigue is the thing I am asked about more than any other. One of the underlying causes can be iron depletion, or a lack of magnesium. There is a lot that juice can do to help. atomic lift off (See above) citrusucculent 1 ripe grapefruit ½ ripe lemon 2 ripe oranges dandelion plus 4-5 carrots A handful of dandelion leaves 2 whole pears ginger berry (See above) gingeroo (See above) glorious grapefruit 2 pink grapefruits (peeled) green zinger 2 kale leaves or beetroot tops or a handful of spinach 4-5 carrots A small handful of parsley hi mag 4-5 carrots 2 florets of broccoli 2 dandelion leaves, beetroot tops, spinach or kale leaves secret of the sea 4 carrots 2 whole apples 2 sheets nori seaweed Juice the apple and the carrot then pour into a blender with the seaweed. Blend thoroughly. hangover There is an art to hangover management, the key being to understand what has happened! Dehydrated and nauseous, you need to replenish your body fluids. Fruit juice is a good idea but might be a little harsh. On top of this, the body’s acidic reaction to the alcohol has produced a chemical imbalance which needs to be put right. Go for the following juices. apples & pears 2 pears 2 whole apples Drink straight away as this oxidizes very quickly. carrot & apple 4 carrots 1 apple This is a wonderful juice to experiment with – change the proportions to suit yourself. merry belon 1 slice of watermelon. 3cm wide and cut into chunks to fit your juicer 6 strawberries, washed and with stalks removed In hot weather, a good tip is to freeze the berries before juicing them – delicious! virgin mary This is a Bloody Mary without the vodka; add a clove of garlic and it becomes a Vampire Mary; a fresh hot green chili pepper turns it into a Scary Mary. 2 ripe tomatoes 2 carrots ½ beetroot 1 stalk celery 1 cucumber insomnia There are many causes for insomnia, but there are some things that will help with most causes. Magnesium, vitamin B6 and niacin have to be present in order for the amino acid tryptophan to be able to turn itself into the sleep-inducing serotonin. Calcium induces muscle relaxation, and some people need an extra boost of fruit sugar before going to bed to trigger sleep. Try out which of the following helps you. green goddess (See above) hi mag (See above) lazy lettuce 2 whole apples 5 lettuce leaves pineamint (See above) smooth as silk 2 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen 1 ripe apple 1 whole banana spicy carrot 4 carrots 2 spears of pineapple 1 Braeburn or Cox’s apple A pinch of ground cinnamon A pinch of ground nutmeg pms Although PMS comes in many forms there are certain things that will help. Increasing your intake of magnesium, B6 and the B complex as well as beta-carotene in the week before your period will help, easily done by making the most of the green juices. Water retention can be helped with watermelon, grape, cucumber and dandelion. All of these juices will also help to counteract some of the uncomfortable symptoms associated with menopause.   cool as a cuke 1 cucumber 1 clove garlic 1 tomato dash of dill ginger berry (See above) green zinger (See above) hi mag (See above) pineapple green (See above) secret of the sea (See above) spring salad 3 florets of broccoli 4 carrots 2 stalks of celery 1 clove or garlic 1 tomato sprout special 4 carrots 1 whole apple 1 cup sprouted seeds waterfall 5cm section of cucumber 1 whole apple 3 carrots ½ smallish beetroot a note about juicers Centrifugal juice extractors contain a basket, usually made from stainless steel, with sharp shredding blades at the bottom and a fine mesh screen at the sides. When you push fruit and vegetables through the rotating blades, the pulp is spun off into a receptacle at the back of the machine and the juice strained out through a spout, or into an integral jug. A juicer with a spout is better than one with a jug because then you can juice directly into a glass and there’s less to wash up. As with any domestic appliance, look for the most robust model you can get for your money. This means the one with the strongest motor and the strongest locking mechanism. Beware of two-speed juicers and those models with a hopper that simply clicks into place without your having to clamp it down – there’s just more to go wrong. One other thing to check before buying your juicer is the size of the hole you are supposed to put the produce through. Some are really too small, and it’s a drag to have to slice even the skinniest carrot lengthwise. Don’t be afraid to demand a demonstration of the model you intend to buy, listen to the whine the motor makes and ask yourself if it sounds as if it can stand up to the job. As soon as you begin to incorporate freshly-extracted raw vegetable and fruit juices into your lifestyle you will find something amazing starts to happen. First you will notice the terrific lift that just one glass of fresh juice can give you, particularly when taken first thing on an empty stomach. Imagine what life might be like if, instead of trying to kick-start yourself with strong coffee in the mornings, you could drink a glass of raw juice and almost immediately feel refreshed, alert and eager to see what another day has in store. And that’s just what raw juice will do for you. Go for it!

For more than a million years, our ancestors lived with herbs. They cooked with them, healed with them, used them to scent their bodies and sanctify their prayers. On a molecular level, the human body recognizes herbs when we take them. Get to know the nature of a few specific plants and they will enhance your life immeasurably. In a very real sense, we can come to know an herb the way a woman knows her lover. The spirit of a plant meets the spirit of a human. Expect magic. You won’t be disappointed. A FINE ROMANCE My own passion for herbs began when I discovered the help they could bring me and my family. Simple plants such as nettle or golden rod (Solidago virgauria) have a natural cleansing and diuretic effect on my body. Traveling on airplanes, my ankles used to swell up. I discovered when I got home and made a cup of golden rod or nettle tea, the swelling would vanish. Fascinated, I began to read about what herbs can do for the immune system. I began to experiment with other plants—goldenseal and echinacea, burdock and shiitake mushrooms. I began to give herbs to my whole family whenever any of us threatened to come down with flu or a cold. I discovered that, provided we took them in time, one or a combination of plants would clear the problem before the full force of any illness hit. A doctor friend, Gordon Latto, taught me that gargling with red sage and sticking a clove of garlic in its paper shell in between the teeth and the inside of the mouth for a few hours a day would clear a sore throat and nip throat infections in the bud. I began to wonder just how many other remarkable things plants could do for us. THE SUPERB ADAPTOGENS I was lucky enough to meet with the famous Russian scientist I.I. Brekhman, expert in adaptogenic herbs, who won the Lenin Prize for Science. From him I learned that the adaptogens such as ginseng, eluthrococcus or Siberian Ginseng, and Suma from South America strengthen a person’s ability to resist illness as well as making it possible for us to work and play longer and harder without experiencing the negative effects of prolonged stress. That was thirty years ago. Since then I have come to use herbs and flowers, fresh raw juices and vegetables, water and tender loving care to help the body protect itself from illness, heal a sickness when it struck, calm an agitated mind, induce slumber when unable to sleep, clear depression, and care for my skin. I have also learned to use herbs to decorate my house and sanctify my working space. I also fell in love with photographing them. Meanwhile, I raised four children without antibiotics or over-the-counter drugs thanks to the blessings of herbs. DAZZLING POWER The classic definition of an herb is ‘a non-woody plant which dies down to its roots each winter’. This definition is far too limiting. It was probably made up by 19th century European botanists who had never seen the rainforest in which, of course, there is no winter to die back in. Neither had they ever heard of woody trees and shrubs such as hawthorn, ginkgo and elder, which provide us with some of the best-selling herbs on the market these days. My own definition of an herb is simply a medicinal plant. It can come from any climate and be a leaf, a bark, a flower or a root. It can be home-grown or wild—a weed, a spice, a plant which is used for its healing, culinary or beautifying properties. So powerful are the health-enhancing capacities of herbs that a vast number of common prescription drugs have been derived from a mere 90 species of plants. According to Professor Norman Farnsworth—leading American expert in pharmacognosy at University of Illinois —74% of common drugs have been developed directly out of traditional native herb folklore. In the United States alone, the annual sales of prescription drugs developed from plant products used by tribal cultures is already in excess of $6 billion. Unlike prescription drugs, whose side-effects can be devastating, most herbs are both safe and simple to use. Most carry no side-effects at all. MEDICAL FAILURE The way we have thought about health and healing for the past century—what the experts call our biomedical model—has come to the limits of its usefulness. Conventional medical practices view the body as a collections of structures—bones and blood, cells and tissues. Common medical treatment consists of acting on these structures in a symptomatic way. Doctors give one drug to lower blood pressure or cholesterol, another to get rid of headaches or put you to sleep. Whether these drugs are medically prescribed or over-the-counter products, virtually all carry negative side effects. Most have no concern with genuine healing. They instead focus on ‘managing’ illness by suppressing symptoms. Herbal treatment, like all of the great natural approaches to health through history, looks at things differently. It insists that at every level of biological organisation—from chromosomes in our DNA all the way up to our eyes and toes, stomach and liver—the body has a stunning capacity for self-treatment. It is capable of removing damaged structures and renewing them on its own. The natural capacity of living organisms as complex as ours to regenerate themselves is something that symptomatic drug-based medicine ignores altogether. Yet self-regeneration lies at the very core of using natural foods, water, air and movement therapies, and of course herbs, to strengthen, balance or heal. Chinese medicine is functional medicine; it did not develop along structural lines as Western 20th century medicine did. So is Ayurvedic and Unani medicine from India, and nature-cure in the West. The Chinese pharmacopoeia is the richest in the world. Chinese doctors value plants for their ability to strengthen the body’s functioning, heighten its own defences and improve immunity. They use herbs, as we are only now beginning to in the West, to extend longevity, to increase resistance to illness, to heighten energy, and to calm disturbed emotions. BRING MAGIC INTO YOUR LIFE There is an endless parade of different ways you can use herbs. In the health food store and mail order catalogue you can find a confusing array of capsules, pills, tablets, extracts, tinctures and ‘whole herbs’ or ‘bulk herbs’, none of which seem to relate to the ‘infusion’ you have decided you would like to take. And what about the herbs you have growing in your garden? Here is a rough guide to finding your way through the confusion. First, find yourself a reputable supplier. I have a passion for iHerb.com, since the variety of herbal products they offer are the best and cheapest anywhere, and they ship worldwide. Personally, I’m wary of buying herbs in health food stores or pharmacies unless they come from a manufacturer or supplier I know. With a supplier you trust and with whom you can discuss your needs, you can be sure you are getting a good potency and that the herbs have not been sitting in a cupboard somewhere for months. BULK/DRIED/WHOLE HERBS What you are buying is a bag or box of a specific weight of dried herb, either in its whole form, crushed or powdered. This is the best way to purchase herbs if you want to make teas (infusions), decoctions, or your own capsules, or if you want to use them in potpourris and sachets. It is also about the cheapest way to buy dried herbs. TINCTURES A tincture uses alcohol diluted in water to draw out the plant’s chemical constituents and preserve them. You can buy tinctures by the bottle and they are pretty potent. You take from several drops to 1 teaspoon or more of a tincture in a little water several times a day if needed. Tinctures are best bought from a reputable supplier. You can make them yourself, but the process is less accurate than when they are professionally produced. I buy many herbs in tincture form as I find them so convenient. You will sometimes find a figure such as 1:4 on a bottle of tincture. This gives you the ratio of the weight of the herb—in this instance 1 part of herb—to alcohol/water mix. An herbalist may suggest you take a specific ratio in which case your supplier can advise, but for general usage you don’t need to know the ratio. EXTRACTS Extracts are easy to confuse with tinctures. They are far more concentrated. They aim to contain all the active chemicals of the plant, not only those that will dissolve in alcohol. Extraction processes vary from pressure rolling to heat treatment to vacuum extraction. These are best left to the experts. Extracts have a limited shelf life. They should be kept in the fridge. Herbalists often prescribe extracts during an illness, rather than using them for prevention. Extracts can also be useful to add to a cream or salve for external use: ¼ extract to ¾ base. They are pretty strong in their action. TABLETS, PILLS & CAPSULES Tablets, pills and capsules are often more readily than the loose dried herbs themselves. Tablets, pills and capsules usually contain the whole herb, not just the constituents extracted in a tincture or infusion. Therefore, in taking them, you are making use of the synergy in action between all the constituents of each plant. Choose those from a reputable manufacturer/supplier. Tablets are made from dried plant material—leaves, roots, bark and/or flowers—mixed with a base, sometimes lactose, both to help you hold them in your hand to take them and to aid absorption in the stomach. Pills are, basically, tablets with a coating. If the plant is sticky, smelly, or tastes dreadful—or all three—it is more likely to come in pill form than tablet form as the protein or sugar coating disguises less pleasant aspects of the plant. Usually I avoid these, since sugar in any form is far from beneficial. Capsules, made of gelatine or a vegetarian equivalent, are filled with dried herbs—even the stickier, smellier ones. They need to be stored in a cool, dry place, but they preserve herbs well. You can buy gelatine capsules from a chemist and fill them yourself, either with herbs you have dried yourself or with dried herbs you have bought in bulk. The standard 00 size capsule holds about ½ gram (500mg) of herb. Make sure the herb is ground into as fine a powder as possible before filling, so that it can be easily absorbed by the body. A WONDROUS WORLD Plants speak volumes when you know how to listen. One of the great joys of our herbal tradition has been the love affair that takes place when the spirit of an herb meets the spirit of the person using it. It is an old art by which, using your intuition and trusting your instinct, you can move towards an awareness of the central nature of a plant and how best it can be used. For example—the herb Leonurus cardiaca is a powerful strengthener of the heart, reducing tachycardia and hypertension and promoting normal heart action. The essence of its personality, however, is better expressed in its common name—motherwort. This herb has the ability to bring a sense of absolute security—the way a baby feels lying in the arms of its mother—during periods of deep and unsettling change. Every plant has secret wisdom and power. It will tell you its tales and offer its richness to you as you open your heart to it.

The cold is the most common human ailment. It has been with us forever, and affects people all over the world. It’s estimated that the average adult will catch two to three colds a year. Despite its astounding prevalence, there are many natural means of helping your body avoid catching one. And if you already have a cold, you needn’t suffer a full-blown attack. Read on to arm yourself with invaluable cold-kicking know-how… GO WITH THE FLOW Catching a cold is no coincidence. It’s your body’s way of telling you two things. One: There are wastes in your system that need to be eliminated. And two: Your immunity is compromised. It needs building up. The kindest thing you can do for your body is to help it with these elimination and immune-boosting processes. An Epsom-salts bath is a great place to start. Soak, for half an hour, in blood-temperature water to which two cups of Epsom salts have been added. This will assist your body while it is trying to throw off toxins, thanks to the salts’ wonderful toxin-leaching properties. It will also relax you, and ease any bodily aches you might have. But perhaps the single best way you can help your body flush out the nasties is by drinking water—lots of it. (In fact, drink nothing else, except herb tea if you wish.) Make sure your water is fluoride free and otherwise clean. Then go for it. Two glasses first thing in the morning, and two between each meal, is a good amount for starters. EAT YOUR WAY TO HEALTH Next, you need to stop putting any toxic stuff back in. This means no baddies like alcohol; caffeine, grains, cereals and sugary convenience foods. Eating such things will put an extra strain on your system, undermine your body’s ability to fight back, and slow down the healing process. Milk products are also a no-go, as they are mucus-forming. And mucus is the last thing you need when you are already bunged up with a cold. What you need to eat are fresh, raw foods: Fruit. Vegetables. Unprocessed seeds and perhaps a few raw nuts. These will provide you with all the nutrients you need while your body is clearing the cold. Also, importantly, they will not put pressure on your digestive system. Apples, grapes, sunflower seeds and almonds are a few ideas. When you eat fruit, try starting with just one type to make digestion even easier. Then gradually add different fruits, fresh vegetable salads, and then, in a day or two, some lightly steamed vegetables as your cold improves. THREE HANDY COLD REMEDIES We all know that rest is important in fighting off illness, yet it’s often impossible given today’s demanding lifestyles. Quick, symptom-busting fixes are called for. So relax: help is at hand. Take tincture of Echinacea to get your circulation going and your system buzzing. On the first day, take a teaspoon in water every three hours; then three or four times a day afterwards till your cold clears completely. If you have a sore throat, it’s garlic to the rescue. This will surprise you but it works wonders: Tuck an entire unpeeled clove between your lower teeth and cheek and keep it there for as long as you can. Its amazing antiviral qualities will help your body kill off the bugs causing your sore throat. Vitamin C is another fantastic way of supporting your immune system as it does its job. Take between 3 grams (3,000 mg) and 6 grams, three times a day, until a day after the cold has cleared. YOUR HIDDEN DEFENDER So much for getting shot of cold symptoms while speeding up the healing process. “But how on earth do I stop catching colds?” You may well ask. The key to this is a fit, healthy and vigilant immune system. Keeping your immunity strong isn’t difficult. It just requires a little extra effort and awareness on your part. Here’s how. Start by taking a daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement: Food-state supplements are best. I recommend Rainbow Light, Advanced Nutritional System, Food-Based Multivitamin, Iron-Free, 180 Tablets. As for extra Vitamin C protection, one to three grams a day is the way to go. Next, make sure to include plenty of fresh garlic in your cooking—one or two cloves per day—and use the Japanese Shiitake and Maitake mushrooms in your diet. These contain wonderful immune-strengthening compounds. Keep up your water drinking, too. Last but not least—remember that depression often goes hand in hand with depressed immunity. Laugh hard and often, and enjoy life. It will keep you well and make you feel great. Rainbow Light, Advanced Nutritional System, Food-Based Multivitamin, Iron-Free, 180 Tablets Powerful Antioxidant Stress Formula Energy Support Potent Superfoods Complete Multivitamin/Mineral Digestive Enzymes & Probiotics Buy Rainbow Light ORDERING FROM IHERB.COM: Get $5 OFF your first order. They ship all over the world very cheaply, and their products are the cheapest and best in the world. Get your order sent to you via DHL. I use them for almost everything no matter where I am.