integrative health

The word protein literally means “primary substance.” It’s an appropriate name. For every tissue in the body, from brain to little fingernail, is built of and repaired by protein. Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, are central factors in most body processes too. They make antibodies against infection, create hormones and ensure you have enough haemoglobin in your red blood cells. Every enzyme has protein as its basic component. This is why we need good quality, clean protein from eggs, nuts, and organic, fermented, soy products if you are vegetarian. If you are not vegetarian, then fresh fish gleaned from clean waters, organic poultry, wild game, and organic meat from animals free to graze is ideal. THE ANIMAL QUESTION Whether we like it or not, the highest quality protein is animal-based. And the most important nutritional feature of both meat and fish is their cellular structure. For it is very similar to our own. Nutrients we absorb from animal proteins are easily transformed into our own tissue and blood. Even small amounts of top quality animal protein can be enormously strengthening to anyone deficient in strength and energy. In addition to being the best power foods available, all good quality animal protein boasts an abundance of minerals and trace minerals. SHUN FACTORY FARMING Not only is caged and physically restricted animal farming an abomination in relation to the horrific suffering it imposes. Such domestic meat and much farmed fish is laden with hormones, poisons and antibiotics. If you routinely eat large quantities of meat, you can end up not only with a high level of uric acid in your body, but with a tendency to form a lot of mucus and to build up toxicity in your own body. This is why when I eat meat—and I prefer fish or game—I eat only certified organic meat from free range animals. The difference in flavor is undeniable. Also, I know that the animals I’m eating have been carefully raised and are free of both excess fat and toxicity. When selecting meat or fish, there are two major considerations: Make sure it’s fresh, and as unprocessed as possible. Buy fresh fish and seafood instead of the processed forms, such as crab cakes or smoked and breaded fish. There’s no harm in having the odd slice of smoked salmon, provided it is naturally smoked— however, the more a fish is processed the fewer benefits it will bring for high level health. (And most smoked salmon has sugar added to it these days, so read labels carefully.) BLESSED OMEGA 3s If possible, add fish to your diet once or twice a week. For fish is rich in “pre-formed” omega-3 fatty acids—DHA and EPA. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to reduce the levels of triglycerides—blood fats characteristic of insulin resistance syndrome which can put you at risk of heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids also spur fat burning, as well as lowering blood pressure and improving overall heart function. Often, flaxseed oil is promoted as a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. And it is—at least in the sense that flax contains a great deal of linolenic acid, precursor to DHA and EPA. The problem is that, when you are relying on flaxseed for your omega-3 requirements, your body has to convert linolenic acid to DHA and EPA for this to be beneficial. Most people can’t make this conversion—especially if they have eaten a lot of trans-fatty acids, or an abundance of omega-6 fats, in the past. Also: Omega-3 from flax oil is a shorter chain fatty acid, which in some people is changed into arachidonic acid. When in excess, this causes inflammation. By contrast, EPA and DHA in fish oils are great anti-inflammatories. If you are overweight or insulin resistant, it is likely that your body cannot make this conversion, possibly because you, like most of us these days, have taken in an overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids in comparison to the omega-3s. That’s why taking a good fish oil is wise (see below for my favorite). MAKE IT FRESH The key to good fish is buying it fresh. Ask the person serving you which fish is the freshest, and what days of the week different kinds of fish arrive in the shop. You can tell a lot about the freshness of fish by its smell and look. Fresh fish does not smell fishy. It smells more like the salty bite of a sea breeze. If it’s a whole fish you are looking at, pull back its gills. They should be bright red. The moment they go pale pink or grey, you know the fish has been sitting in the shop too long. Try poking the flesh of the fish with your finger as well. If it springs back instead of forming an indentation, then you’re lucky enough to have a piece of fresh fish on your hands. Check out the eye of the fish, too. It should be dome-shaped and clear, not sunken or murky. GO WILD The meats we get today are a far cry from those our Paleolithic ancestors hunted. The closest you can come these days is wild boar, rabbit, buffalo, venison and kangaroo. These meats are higher in protein and lower in fat than the meat from domestically farmed animals. Where a piece of meat from wild game boasts about 22 grams of protein in each 100 gram portion, domestic meat can sometimes contain as little as 15 or 16 grams. Wild meat is also much lower in fat. The ordinary meat that you buy in the supermarket is six times as fatty and only about three quarters as rich in protein as that of game meat. That being said, all organic red meats like beef and lamb from grazed animals are excellent sources of zinc, a mineral that’s enormously important—not only for insulin balance but for the skin and the reproductive system. Free-range and organic meat is far better than factory farmed in every way. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY I was a vegetarian for twenty years of my life, and I believe that a vegetarian diet is ideal for some. In my mid thirties, however, I discovered that vegetarianism was not ideal for me. This may well have been because my ancestors, being Nordic, spent most of their lives living on fish, salted meat and whatever cabbage they could dig up from frozen ground. Our genetic makeup determines to a great extent what works for us and what doesn’t. When I added fish and game to my meals, my energy levels soared. I looked and felt better. Each of us is unique. This not only determines what kind of foods we thrive on; it also determines what kinds of foods are best for us at any particular time of our life. For instance, many women at menopause find they do much better by cutting meat out of their diet. Others discover just the opposite—that they need to add more animal protein. It’s a question of “suck it and see”. Following the principles of a good diet, explore what works for you. Don’t hesitate to shift from eating more fruit at one time of your life to more vegetables at another, more fish at another. The human body is always changing, as are our needs for various foods. I’d like to share with you a couple of my favorite recipes. Try them out and let me know what you think. If you have favorite protein recipes of your own, do send them to me. I will share them with others and of course credit you for them. CRUNCHY GREEN PRAWNS serves 4 When it comes to prawns, green means raw. These are the best. You can buy them fresh or frozen in every form—shelled, unshelled, whole, or heads removed. If you’re lucky enough to find fresh ones, make sure they really are fresh since, like other shellfish, prawns go off fast. Eat them the day you buy them. I like to eat them whole, partly because they are so beautiful and partly because I like the crunchy texture of the shells. I always eat the shells since the shells are filled with chitin—a protein substance which cosmetic manufacturers now use to strengthen skin from both within and without. Like most shellfish, prawns are rich in iodine and in the antioxidants zinc and selenium. Prawns are great for people who eat very little, because they are an easily-digested form of top quality protein. They are also a good source of calcium, iodine and the important omega-3 fatty acids, which not only protect the heart but offer good support to hormonal health, skin health and beauty. Crunchy Green Prawns can be cooked under a grill or on a barbecue. You can even flash fry them on a teppen yaki grill or in a heavy frying pan if you like. They are delicious hot. But you can also make them for a picnic and serve them cold. What You Need 750g of King prawns, uncooked. You may peel and de-vein them if you wish. 2 limes, cut in wedges 2 tablespoons of fresh coriander, chopped For the Marinade: 3–4 tablespoons of olive oil 1 tablespoon of spring onions, finely chopped 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 50g of fresh ginger, finely shredded A small handful of fresh coriander, chopped The juice and finely shredded zest of 2 small limes (if you can’t get limes then use 1 lemon) 2 tablespoons of sake, tamari or dry sherry 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds broken up with a mortar and pestle Coarse-ground black pepper to taste Snow pea sprout heads to use as a garnish (optional) Here’s How Wash the prawns carefully in cold water and then dry with a tea towel. Place all of the ingredients for the marinade, except the lime zest, chopped garlic and 1/4 of the chopped coriander into a food processor or blender. Purée to a paste. Pour into a bowl, add the garlic, the lime or lemon zest and the remaining chopped coriander and mustard seeds, then mix into the paste by hand. Place the prawns in the bowl and, using your hands, turn them over and over until they are covered with the paste. Put on to a flat glass dish and cover. Set it in a cool place—the fridge itself if it happens to be the middle of summer—for at least three hours. Cook on a teppen yaki grill, a barbecue or under a grill in the oven until they are crunchy. Serve with lime wedges. Don’t throw away any of the marinade—cooked or uncooked—that still remains. It is delicious to spread over the crunchy prawns. It takes only a couple of minutes a side to fry these and very little more under a hot grill or on a barbecue—all you want is for them to turn opaque. However you cook them, eat them with your fingers—shell and all. All sensuous food tastes better this way, but prawns especially. I serve them with a combination of basmati rice and wild rice—about half and half—and a bright green salad of wild rocket with whatever fresh herbs, from basil to lovage, that I can harvest from the garden or find at the market. AND FOR MY VEGETARIAN FRIENDS: CORIANDER ORGANIC TOFU Thanks to the intense flavor of coriander, this herb works well to enhance the bland flavor of tofu. This recipe goes well with steamed vegetables—especially broccoli—and kasha (steamed buckwheat). Make a tofu sandwich of it, or add this tofu to a salad to make it a one-bowl meal rich in protein and in plant factors for health. What You Need 400g of firm organic tofu (non-GMO) 2 tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil 2” finger of fresh ginger, shredded fine 1/2 cup of fresh coriander, chopped fine 1 tablespoon of tamari 1 teaspoon of wild honey, or a pinch of granular stevia Sea salt and freshly-ground red pepper to taste Here’s How Cut the tofu crosswise into slices that are approximately 3/8 inch thick. Mix together all the other ingredients in a bowl, then dip each tofu slice into the mixture you have created. Heat a heavy frying pan grill or teppen yaki grill. Use enough olive oil or coconut oil on top of the grill so the tofu will not stick. Place the tofu on the grill, sprinkle with sea salt and freshly-ground red peppercorns, and cook at a high temperature until browned. Turn and brown again. Serve immediately as a tofu sandwich or in a tofu salad or simply as is, with loads of beautifully colored fresh vegetables. The whole cooking process takes no more than 3–5 minutes. I hope you enjoy them.

There is nothing more apt to cause sleeplessness than the worry that you won't be able to drop off. Sometimes sleeplessness can be normal. After all, we all experience a sleepless night now and then, particularly if we are over-tired, worried, or excited about some coming event. A lot of so-called insomnia is nothing more than the result of worrying about getting to sleep. Real, chronic insomnia is less frequent. A major research project into long-term insomnia turned up some interesting facts about sufferers. Over 85 per cent of the 300 insomniacs studied had one or more major pathological personality indications, such as depression, obsessive compulsive tendencies, schizophrenic characteristics, or sociopathy. For them, their insomnia was a secondary symptom of a more basic conflict. Insomnia was a socially acceptable problem they could talk about without fear of being judged harshly. Insomnia is little more than a mask for whatever is really bothering the non-sleeper. sleeplessness often brings new insights Occasionally the inability to sleep can be a manifestation of a nutritional problem - often a deficiency of zinc coupled with an excess of copper, which produces a mind that is intellectually overactive and won't wind down - or a deficiency of calcium or magnesium or vitamin E, which can lead to tension and cramping in the muscles and a difficulty in letting go. The more easygoing an attitude you take to sleep, the less likely you are to have any problem with it. If you miss an hour or two, or if you are not sleepy, simply stay up, read a book, or finish some work. Believe it or not, one of the best times for coming up with creative ideas is in the middle of a sleepless night. It can be the perfect opportunity for turning stress into something creative. Chances are that you'll more than make up for it in the next couple of days - provided you don't get anxious about it. Insomnia is one of women's greatest fears. Eight times more women report sleep difficulties to their doctors throughout their lives than do men. Apart from the motherhood-induced insomnia which comes from having to feed a baby, if ever you are going to have trouble sleeping, it is most likely to be during the perimenopausal years just before your periods stop, or much later on in your seventies and eighties. People sleep less as they get older for a number of reasons, not the least of which is a decrease in the production of a substance called melatonin, which regulates the body's circadian rhythms. How much sleep you need can change depending on your life circumstances, too. When you are pregnant, eat less wholesome foods, or are under stress or ill you may need more sleep. You need more sleep when you gain weight, too. When losing weight, or during a detoxification regime you will often sleep less. The sleeplessness that occurs in women around the time of menopause and in the few years just before is most usually not a difficulty in going to sleep, but a tendency to awaken regularly at the same time each night (usually 2 or 3 in the morning) and to lie in bed wide awake. Because we are accustomed to sleeping through the night, we assume that there must be something wrong. Yet sleeplessness can sometimes bring new insights, if you are ready to receive them. Many artists, writers and composers will tell you that they receive inspiration for new projects and discover ways of overcoming creative challenges on awakening in the night.

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

The most effective approach to de-aging relies on getting antioxidants in the form in which they come in nature - by eating natural, unprocessed, fresh foods rich not only in the antioxidants that have been heavily studied and are well known, but in so many other plant substances that in one way or anther have anti-aging properties. One of the interesting things about the anti-aging substances in fresh foods is that they also happen to be anticancer substances. The changes that take place in cancer are akin to the mutations to the cells, cell walls, and genetic material which occur as the body ages. Eat foods rich in anticancer compounds and you automatically protect your body from premature aging too. There are certain superfoods - herbs, mushrooms and other plant substances - that are high on the list of powerful natural de-agers. They include the algae such as chlorella, spirulina, the Australian Dunaliella Salina; the seaweeds - dulse, kelp, alaria and bladderwrack; certain herbs with powerful adaptogenic properties that help protect the body from stress such as Fo-ti, Schizandra, astragalus and ginger; cereal grasses; the immune supporting mushrooms such as reishi and maitake; as well as natural plant antioxidants such as those found in sage, rosemary, and cloves. There are thousands of plant-based chemicals in natural foods, some of which have even higher antioxidant activity than known antioxidant minerals and vitamins. Take grape seeds. Within the seed of red grapes you will find procyanidolic oligomers (PCOs) at a level of about 92-95%. The gallic esters of prosnthocynidins are the most active free radical scavengers known. enter neutraceuticals Neutraceuticals are the newest advances in dietary supplements. They are beginning to grace the shelves next to vitamin and mineral supplements in shops. These new products contain phytochemical substances and compounds such as those from grape seeds which have been extracted from foods and then concentrated into powders and capsules. For example, now you can find that some of the cholesterol-lowering factors found in a clove of garlic or the cancer-preventing potential in a sprig of fresh raw broccoli have been put together into an easy-to-use form. These phytochemicals are always non-nutrient substances - that is not vitamins, minerals, or trace elements. Some bring plants their color, taste, and fragrance. Others their natural defenses against disease. In recent years scientists have discovered that many of these factors in plants can help protect us. The reason these new products are called neutraceuticals is because of their neutral action on the body. Unlike drugs they are very unlikely to cause side-effects. Yet some have been shown to slow tumor growth in cancer, others to combat hormone-related cancer risks, or lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure, boost the immune system, prevent tooth decay and gum disease and help reverse many of the other biomarkers of aging. Researchers into the exciting new world of phytochemical biology have identified thousands of different plant chemicals that exist in natural foods, hundreds of which have already been shown to have health benefits.

Hi. In the next three minutes I want to share with you some important stuff I’ve learned about stress. Stress is something I suffer from myself quite a bit and it has been a long hard road to find out what works for me. I will also give you a natural product that I have found to be very helpful when I am feeling overwhelmed. Suffering from stress We all suffer from stress particularly now in this modern world with the aid of modern technology where we are expected to do the job of 2 or 3 people as well as the demands that we place on our selves. Here’s the big secret though. It’s not stress itself that causes the issue. It’s how we respond to it that matters. When you learn how to make stress work with you instead of against you, you can free yourself from a lot of unwanted pain. It almost becomes a zen practise where you learn to eliminate unnecessary stressors in your own life. There are often more than you think that can easily be let go off. This simple practise can help free up a lot of energy.

One of the oldest systems of natural healing in the world uses hot and cold baths and showers to increase your vitality, balance hormones, beautify skin, tone muscles, clear your mind, and vitalize your nervous system, lymphatic system, and circulation. It quickly brings you a sense of wonderful aliveness, and all the while it is dissolving, transporting, and clearing rubbish from your body and psyche. Father Sebastian Kneipp The father of all water therapies was Father Sebastian Kneipp, the Bavarian priest who first made us aware of water’s healing power. “When used appropriately,” he said, “water and herbs can cure almost every disease.” He established Bad Worishofen in Germany in 1897, a center where people all over the world came to be healed by special ice cold baths, walking barefoot in the snow, and other simple but powerful methodologies that are celebrated to this day. I first learned the secrets of water healing in my early twenties after spending many years in a state of ill health thanks to my being raised on a terrible diet. It had been based on huge bowels of breakfast cereals piled high with white sugar, horrid fast foods eaten at 5 am in truck drivers’ cafes throughout America, and a lot of other junk. No wonder I was unhealthy. However, what I learned from the generosity of some brilliant British and European doctors who practiced natural medicine turned my entire life around. This was how I came to work in, write about, and teach natural methods of healing. It is also how I came to visit Kneipp’s centers for hydrotherapy, which still continue to thrive, especially in Germany. In many ways the most important of all I learned was how powerful healing with simple water techniques can be for improving your life at any time. Let me share with you one of these techniques. Do try it and let me know how you get on. There are many more, but let’s begin with this one. Thanks to water's chemical and bioelectrical properties, and to your body's physiological and energetic responses to them, water therapy is a superb method for cleansing, energizing, and restoring great functioning to any tired or aging body. The technique of using alternating applications of hot and cold water is called “Contrast Hydros.” If you have not yet experienced the turn-on it offers, you have a real treat ahead. After a workout, athletes use hydroelectrics in the form of contrast baths and showers to strengthen the body, prevent muscular damage, and eliminate aches. Contrast hydros not only help clear wastes and vitalize but also bring nutrients and oxygen to areas of your body that need them and balance your energies, helping to protect you from stress-induced damage. Here is how Apply hot water to your whole body for three or four minutes in the form of a hot bath or shower. Follow with 30 to 60 seconds of cold water. Repeat the procedure three times. The application of cold water needs to be just long enough to make blood vessels constrict. This can take place in as little as 20 seconds. Cold water triggers your sympathetic nervous system to energize while hot water intensifies parasympathetic activity for relaxation. The combination of the two makes you feel great. It’s important that you start slowly, increasing the length of your exposure to hot and cold water gradually. If you have a separate bath and shower you can use the bath for one temperature application, the shower for the other, moving back and forth. During the summer, make your bath cold and your showers hot. During the winter, reverse this. Like any natural treatment, contrast hydros need to be followed carefully and wisely to get all the benefits they offer and to make sure no harm is done. You will probably find at first that a plunge into cold water or a cold shower is a shock to your body. Soon this will turn into an experience of total pleasure. It is always the first cold application that is the hardest. The biggest barrier to getting into cold water is a psychological one. Once you leap this hurdle you’ll find yourself eagerly looking forward to your daily treatment. Here are a few cautions: Always check with your doctor before beginning any natural treatment to make sure that it is appropriate for you. He or she may advise you not to use contrast hydros if you have any kind of heart condition, nervous disorder, high blood pressure, if you are an insulin-dependent diabetic, or suffer from hardening of the arteries. Make sure your body is warm before beginning. The room should be well heated. Don’t let your body become chilled during the treatment. If you feel yourself becoming too cold, immediately stop and get into a hot bath or shower until you warm up fully. Always begin with a hot application and end with cold. Start slowly with 2-3 minutes of hot application followed by 20 seconds of cold. As your body gets used to contrast hydros, increase the time of the cold applications up to 1 minute (even up to 2-3 minutes if you are extremely fit or an athlete). When you finish, dry your body well and dress warmly. I’d love to hear how you get on so I can share with you other hydroelectric treatments that cost virtually nothing but can be wonderfully life enhancing.

“I’ve got no energy.” It’s the complaint I hear most often from men and women...an experience that carries endless consequences: feeling sluggish, unmotivated, and devoid of the sparkle that makes life enjoyable. In truth, energy potential is still there within you. It just needs to be rediscovered and set free. Begin by listening your soul’s whispers, and the rest comes naturally. Get into your body. Did you know that how you think and feel are inextricably linked to how well your body functions? Mind and body are integrated through our nerve pathways, hormones, and chemical messengers. The first step, therefore, requires a real change of perspective. Start to see your body not as external to yourself but as the physical expression of who you are. Decide you matter. Decide that you have a right to energy. You do. What kind of energy do you desire? When embarking on an energy journey, it helps to know where you’re starting from. So, as you’re starting the energy journey, take note of where you are now. Start an energy diary. Try writing down a few sentences about how you think and feel, where you want to be, and record anything you think may be holding you back. Form a crystal clear vision of what you are seeking to achieve. The clearer your visualization, the easier it becomes to make high energy a reality. What are your energy drainers? Our world is filled with external energy parasites, such as environmental poisons like pesticides, solvents, estrogens, heavy metals, and junk foods. Then there are the inner energy thieves: Negative emotions. Addictions. Low self-esteem. With all these energy enemies pitted against us, it may seem like an uphill battle. But don’t be disheartened. Once you have identified the specific drainers at work in your life, you will be able to take action to clear them. Do a health check now. Not only are there environmental and emotional energy drainers to watch out for, but biochemical factors come into play as well. These include things like low blood sugar, allergies, anemia, yeast infections, and leaky gut syndrome. How do you start addressing these drainers? Identify and eliminate foods from your diet that are causing or worsening these conditions. You may also want to supplement with the nutrients or digestive enzymes you’re low on. Clear out the junk. So far you’ve started your energy journey and dealt with the baddies sapping your vitality. Now it’s time for bold action. It’s time for a detox—spring cleaning your body from the inside out. Over the years, a less-than-optimum diet results in wastes building up in the tissues. Energy expended on dealing with these toxins depletes you of vitality. So it’s time to clear all unwanted wastes. Quite literally, throw away every package of junk food in your kitchen. Drink at least 2.5 liters of pure water every day. Then you’re ready for the next step—change the kind of foods you were eating before today. Buy, grow, and eat only Real Foods. Stop buying packaged convenience foods filled with hidden sugars, additives, and chemicals, which undermine your health. Too few people realize that grains and grain-based products are themselves insidious energy drainers. This is cutting-edge information—still ignored by the media and much of the medical profession as a result of pressures from Big Pharma and the multinational convenience food industry as well as the corrupt FDA. Grains, cereals, convenience foods—which most of the Western world lives on—turn into sugar as soon as you eat them, creating serious health issues: weight gain in those with a genetic propensity to it, rapid aging, and a myriad of degenerative diseases from heart disease, arthritis, and depression to Alzheimer’s and even cancer.    Real Foods means lots of fresh vegetables and low sugar fruits like berries, plus sprouted seeds and high-quality proteins from grazed animals and wild fish. Add a few superfoods. It’s time to acquaint yourself with some of Nature’s superfoods. To name just a few: Spirulina—seaweeds—chlorella, white tea, and immune-enhancing mushrooms like shiitake and maitake. Tap into their amazing power. You won’t look back. Get moving. Choose a physical activity that you absolutely love, and get into it. It can be anything you like, so long as it’s regular (done maybe three times a week), consistent (lasting 20 to 30 minutes each time), rhythmic, and uses plenty of large muscle groups. If you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few suggestions: Walking. Easily incorporated into daily life, and a great option if you’re unfit. Dancing for the sheer joy of it. Yoga. Incredibly adaptable and practical, especially for frequent travelers. Rebounding (bouncing up and down on a mini-trampoline). So much fun, and perfect to do regardless of your fitness level. Movement can become a source of bliss, which becomes a reward in itself. Laugh it off. You’ve learnt the serious stuff. Now it’s time to start living with energy and joy. Laughter is a great way to start. It’s good for your immune system and your entire body. Seek out and spend time with the people whose sense of humor you love. Watch wonderful comedy movies like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Bowfinger, and Death at a Funeral. They can help energize your life. Time to look ahead. We’ve now come full circle. Go back to your energy diary and ask again the same questions you answered in step two. Have your answers changed? Ask yourself positive questions, and record answers when they come. Now make a long-term energy plan for yourself featuring aspects of the steps you’ve found most helpful. Remember, the energy process is an ongoing journey. And it’s an amazing one. Have fun with it.

Phytochemicals have an important part to play in rejuvenating the body and continuing to de-age it afterwards. A diet for de-aging the body needs to be high-raw and rich in green vegetables, whole grains, fruits, beans and seeds. When you eat this way you get the very best complement of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals for free radical protection and enzymes. And when it comes to de-aging the body enzymes move center stage. Here are a few of the most important recently discovered phytochemicals and some of their life-enhancing, antioxidant and anti-aging actions: Allicin Where Is It Found: onions, garlic, leeks, spring onions Benefits: lowers LDL (the negative) blood cholesterol, detoxifies by enhancing production of glutathione S-transferase, helps protect against breast cancer and heart disease as well as colon cancer and stomach cancer, enhances immunity Alpha Carotene Where Is It Found: seaweeds and carrots Benefits: heightens immunity, slows growth of cancer cells in animals, may help prevent cardiovascular disease and inflammation Anthocyanins Where Is It Found: cranberry juice Benefits: helps prevent and cure urinary tract infections Beta Carotene Where Is It Found: dark green vegetables, red & yellow vegetables such as carrot and marrow, peaches and apricots Benefits: decreases risk of many cancers including skin, colon, and female cancers. Also improves immune function Catechins Where Is It Found: green tea Benefits: together with polyphenol and theaflavin it lowers cholesterol, boosts fat metabolism and may boost immune functions as well as help prevent some cancers and much aging   Indoles Where Is It Found: cabbages, dark green vegetables Benefits: helps detoxify the body, protects against excessive oestrogen buildup, slows cancer growth in animals, enhances immune functions Limones Where Is It Found: citrus fruits Benefits: protects against breast cancer in animals, heightens production of enzymes involved in detoxifying the body, helps lower blood cholesterol and reduce plaque in arteries Lycopene Where Is It Found: red grapefruit, tomatoes, watermelon, apricots Benefits: protects against age-related cell damage and oxidation to proteins and fats Saponins Where Is It Found: chickpeas, lentils and other beans Benefits: help slow the rate of tumor growth in animals Sulphoraphane Where Is It Found: cauliflower, kale, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts Benefits: helps cancer fighting and age fighting enzymes detoxify cells, inhibits the development of breast cancer in animals Triterpenoids & Glycyrrhizin Where Is It Found: licorice root Benefits: enhances immune functions, has anti-tumour properties, fights gum disease and tooth decay, improves liver function by enhancing liver enzymes that help protect against excess oestrogens

It’s little wonder that people are confused about where to go and what to do when they get ill. I personally hear all about this, because I mentor hundreds of men and women throughout the world. They become overwhelmed by the media propaganda and aggressive advertisements they see on television. Our medical industrial complex has turned into a bizarre conglomeration of misinformation, lies and deceptions designed to further the corporate agendas of Big Pharma, government regulatory bodies and mainstream medicine, with little regard for human wellbeing. Now let me be clear: I am by no means damning all doctors. Far from it. I have the highest regard for conscientious practitioners who— because of the pressures they themselves have been put under to dole out drugs—find themselves caught in the same trap as their patients. This means that even doctors who have a genuine will to bring healing to those who need it are often prevented from doing so. DRUGS DON’T CURE Pharmaceuticals are designed to suppress your symptoms, not to cure your problem, despite all the aggressive hype and publicity which would have us believe otherwise. Also, the vast majority of what medical studies conclude in their research has been exaggerated, is misleading or plain old bad science. Dr John Ioannidis is one of the experts who have been exposing bad medical science with great clarity and conviction. His article Lies, Damned Lies and Medical Science, in the October 4 issue of “The Atlantic” magazine, is well worth reading if you want to understand the way in which medical research is supposed to work, but how most often it does not. The corruption, lies and deceit which pervade the functioning of our medical industrial complex are enormous. Pharmaceutical corporations bring in from five to six times more earnings each year than any other corporations. You need to become aware of all these implications. FALSE BELIEFS RULE Take anxiety and depression, which are so widespread now, and so fundamentally undermining to your health long-term. In 1987, SSRIs—selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors—arrived on the scene, spawning with great fanfare a gigantic market for the treatment of anxiety and depression. The assumption on which these drugs were manufactured is this: “Anxiety and depression happen because of low serotonin levels in the brain.” This belief was neither scientifically tested nor proven. Nonetheless, the mainstream medical profession, sold a bill of goods by the pharmaceutical salesmen, embraced prescribing these drugs hook line and sinker—and Big Pharma began to make a fortune on them. Prozac (Fluoxetine) came first. It was followed by Celexa (Citalopram), Zoloft (Sertraline), Paxil (Paroxetine) Lexapro (Escitalopram) and several others. TRUE OR FALSE When the National Institutes of Mental Health decided to find out if anxious and depressed people do indeed have low serotonin levels, they found there was no evidence to support the claim. In 2007, more research concluded that the claim that low serotonin causes anxiety and depression was incorrect. Another Swedish research project confirmed that SSRIs are not a valid treatment for anxiety and depression. Did Big Pharma take note, and begin to question their aggressive sale of these drugs to the public? Not a bit! They continued to assert that adding more serotonin to the brain is the right way to treat these alleged “chemical imbalances.” Other commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals for anxiety include Valium, Ativan, and Xanax. What are the significant risks associated with such drugs? Hip fractures, memory loss, addiction and bone fractures, to name a few. We also know now that those who continue to take SSRIs can be four times more likely to die prematurely and have a 35% greater risk of cancer than those who do not. This was reported in Medical Daily June 17, 2015. EUROPEAN ANALYSIS A fascinating debate recently took place between the highly respected BMJ Danish medical researcher, Dr Peter C Gøtzsche, and a London based researcher Allan H Young, during which mind-altering drugs were rigorously investigated for their safety and effectiveness. Gøtzsche claimed that antidepressants do little more for patients than swallowing a placebo. He pointed out that there are likely to be 15 times more suicides among patients taking them than are being reported by the Food and Drug Administration, which issued a black-box warning on these drugs more than a decade ago after carrying out meta-analyses of hundreds of studies involving almost 100,000 people. At that time they had discovered that the rate of suicidal thinking or behavior doubled among those on the drugs. “Psychiatric drugs are responsible for the deaths of more than half a million people aged 65 and older each year in the Western world.” Gøtzsche estimates that this means an astounding 539,000 deaths take place each year in the U.S. and the European Union. This is based on studies showing higher mortality rates in older patients taking antipsychotic drugs, such as those used to treat schizophrenia; benzodiazepines, which are prescribed to treat panic and anxiety disorders, as well as antidepressants. VACCINATION WARNINGS Dr. David Brownstein is Medical Director of the Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield, MI. A member of the American College for the Advancement of Medicine, he frequently lectures to physicians about the use of natural hormones and nutritional therapies. He also has much to say about vaccines which are indiscriminately being given to both adults and children. In some countries, such as Australia, ongoing vaccination of your child is mandatory. It may soon become mandatory in the state of California. While recently watching a movie “Trace Amounts: Autism, Mercury, and the Hidden Truth”, Brownstein felt impelled to spell out some of the horrific truths which conventional medicine chooses to ignore in regard to the dangers of such vaccinations. Here are some of the things you need to be aware of: Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to man. You will not find even one study that has ever shown that it is safe to inject mercury into a living body. Yet it continues to be used for DTaP, Japanese encephalitis, Influenza, rabies, tetanus and many other vaccines along with other toxins such as aluminum, formaldehyde and even MSG. TOXIC INVADERS Brownstein writes: “In regard to the flu vaccine, there is a whopping 51,000 ppb (parts per billion) in the multi-dose flu vaccine—the most common type of flu vaccine given. How much is 51,000 ppb? It is 25,000 times the legal maximum for mercury in drinking water established by the Environmental Protection Agency.” Remember that when you inject mercury, it is 100% absorbed, so it is more toxic to inject it as compared to eating it in fish or drinking it in water. The autism rate that has gone up from 1:10,000 in 1970 to 1:68 now. He writes, “This is NOT a genetic problem. This is a multifactorial problem that is being caused by toxicities, as well as nutritional and hormonal imbalances. And, toxic vaccines are part of the problem. We have already damaged a whole generation of children because of this mess.” Yet the powers that be, following Big Pharma’s lead, continue to legislate for yet more vaccinations. INTO THE DARKNESS Editor and Chief of The Lancet-considered to be the most prestigious peer reviewed medical journal in the world-Dr Richard Horton, recently published a courageous statement in regard to the quality of medical research. He writes, "The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps, half may be simply untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflict of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn toward darkness." I recently came upon an excellent video by Gwen Olsen, who was herself an ex Big Pharma sales rep. I strongly urge you to watch it. There is a lot more for all of us to learn if we are to become genuinely well and remain that way, and she has much to share with us. 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