The Fifth Step - Superfoods (continued)

  Brewer's Yeast is alkaline-forming and is also a huge source of energy. It is an antidote to weakness, lethargy, depression and exhaustion. It has been found to turn around the effects of ageing, improve skin and hair condition and help with dryness and wrinkling. It is a good source of the mineral copper as well as the B vitamins and protein. It has also been found to protect rats from getting cancer. It may not suit you if you have a candida problem - although it will not increase the yeast in your system, you may be intolerant to brewer's yeast if you have had candida for any length of time.

When taking brewer's yeast for the first time, start small to allow your body to get used to digesting it. Begin on 1 tsp a day and work up slowly. You can take as much as 3 Tbsp a day, but you need to increase the amount very slowly to allow your body to develop the enzymes necessary to digest it. Otherwise you will wonder why it doesn't agree with you.

  Liver is a great food for enhancing the ability to resist stress. For meat-eaters it is an incredibly rich source of vitamins, minerals and protein. It also contains greater quantities of iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and zinc than most foods. Try it in a souffle, or if you really cannot stand the taste, buy it in tablet form.

  Sunflower Seeds are one of the world's wonder foods. It has been said that if you were stranded on a desert island with only one food, you would be very fortunate if that food was sunflower seeds. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, unsaturated oils, and fibre which is excellent for warding off bowel problems like appendicitis, diverticulitis and rectal cancer.

A very wise doctor once gave as his key to staying young and vital all your life the following:

"Each day eat something which, if put into the ground would grow."

That rules out 100% of most of our diets for a start. Put a seed into the ground and it will grow. Remember also that the sunflower spends its day turning its face to the sun so those seeds have had plenty time to soak up the sun's rays - and the sunflower seed is one of the very few foods that provides vitamin D to our bodies. Vitamin D helps us assimilate calcium and phosphorus, both essential to the maintenance of good bone.

Sunflower seeds are rich in potassium - vital for proper heart function - and all the minerals needed to produce strong bones - calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and organic fluorine. They contain 24% protein which includes all the amino acids in good balance - rare in a vegetable food. And as stated above they are high in vitamin F - essential fatty acids. When eaten raw they provide a very good source of digestive enzymes also.

Raw sunflower seeds are a good snack. They are satisfying, you can take them anywhere, and they do you good. It's not a dumb thing to replace "dead" cakes, pastries, chips and soda with something that will keep you in shape for life.

  Kelp
Like Chlorella and Spirulina, Kelp brings the minerals of the ocean into your diet. The mineral composition of human blood is very close to that of seawater. So kelp is a very good way to get assimilable minerals - and it's especially high in iodine, which is needed by your thyroid gland.

There are substances in peanuts, uncooked soy, and brassicas (vegetables of the cabbage family) which combine with iodine and prevent it from being utilised in the body. Lack of iodine results in an underactive thyroid gland, which does nothing to keep you feeling youthful. Your thyroid is an important line of defence against pathogens in the blood as well as a key factor in the rate of your body's metabolism, and if the thyroid is not functioning well, sluggishness, overweight, chilliness and apathy will be the result.

The body's requirement for iodine is about 4mg a day, and this can be supplied by taking a tespoonful of kelp daily - as a condiment in food. If you can combine it with vitamin E, so much the better. Try a glass of tomato juice with some wheatgerm oil and a good dash of kelp for a healthful pick-me-up drink.

  Calcium
Calcium is very important for keeping the body's proper Alkalinity. Not all Calciums arwe created equal, and the very best I can recommend is Coral Calcium which is mined from the debris of coral shelves off the coast of Okinawa. You can get a top quality Coral Calcium for the best possible price HERE. Click the Products link on the left of the page and select Coral Calcium. Take note of the Testimonials, too. This particular brand has the highest levels of Calcium and Magnesium in correct proportions that I have found yet - plus Vitamin D for absorption. This product has made an emormous improvement in my own health.

The Sixth Step - Common Sense
The degradation of Western food is a creeping menace. If we had tried deliberately to devise a diet to wreck our bodies, we could not have done a better job, demineralising and devitalising all our foodstuffs and adding a packet of poisons to top it off. Compare the diets of peoples who are still living by nature's laws, and you will find they are living a lot healthier. If you doubt this, do a little research and read up on studies about the devastating effect of Western diets when they are introduced to Third World countries. A lesson in humility!

Apply common sense to your diet, seek out foods that give your body the nourishment it needs and avoid rubbish food like the plague it is. Take time one day to stroll round your supermarket and check out the delicatessen and the shelves of canned, bottled and packaged goods. Read the labels. You won't find much there that is not laced with white flour, white sugar and chemical preservatives.

Avoid or cut down on pharmaceutical drugs. For most people, the body is better off without them. For those who have a condition that requires medication, take steps using the help of someone well versed in natural healing to correct that condition and work with your doctor to cut down your drug dosage as much as possible. If you really apply the principles of healthy living, it's likely you will reach the point where drugs are no longer required.

Remember our bodies are 90% water, and drink plenty of real water, as straight water or as herb teas - especially those mentioned Here.

Don't make a habit of drinking black tea, coffee, soft drinks or alcohol. These too are poison!

Take a long, hard look at what your children and grandchildren are eating on a daily basis. You are likely to find the answers to unruly behaviour, tantrums, attention deficit and a host of other nasties right there in the food chain. Unless you are already very "savvy" on this subject, it is likely to shock you.

Patricia Howitt
Owner
Healthnews-NZ.com