Dear HLife: What Should I Eat When Training for a Marathon?

Dear HLifer:

As we always say here at HLife, we don’t processed-sugarcoat ANYTHING.  The answer, straight up and simple, is: A whole food plant-based diet is the best nutrition all around for the human machine, especially when you are training for a race. Just check out my two fave athletes, amazing guys, and whole food, plant-based diet enthusiasts: Running Raw’s Tim Van Orden and professional Ironman triathlete Branden Brazier. Those guys are a great example of dramatically enhancing athletic performance by going raw and vegan. Now, if what you follow now is a Western diet, don’t freak out and attempt to switch over in one sweep to vegan or raw (or both) with no knowledge of what you are doing (I know you want to!) Make the change gradually by increasing the whole food, plant-based portion of your meals and decreasing your animal food intake. The more you increase your plant-based foods, the more your body will naturally start to reject acidic and hard-to-digest animal foods. But it would be to your greater health benefit if you were to eliminate processed/junk foods, refined sugars, and alcohol from your diet.  If the point of nutrition is to give your body quality nutrients to then turn into energy (and by the word “quality” I mean easy to digest, absorb and assimilate) then whole plant-based foods is where quality meets nutrient density.  In order to break down foods, your body needs to produce enzymes to digest them. That requires energy and since your body is already energy-depleted from the workout and runs (yes, exercise is a stressor on the body,) you need to help your body out, give it a break for recovery, and nourish it with easily digestible foods that contain a variety and a load of nutrients to replenish and create more energy. And the best way to get this: The Vegetable Kingdom! For tips and suggestions on how to begin your journey towards health and longevity through the vegetable kingdom, read our post on how to transition into a plant-based diet.

When we are training for a marathon and stressing out the body by working it harder then usual we create lots of free radicals and deplete our mineral/electrolyte count. Free radicals are uncharged molecules with unpaired electrons that are out to damage your cells. Antioxidants (which are only found in plant-based foods) act as “free radical scavengers”, preventing and repairing damage done by these free radicals. Minerals are essential for the optimal health and balance of life. Any sort of stress on the body and mind will deplete them, so we must replenish our minerals and electrolyte count in order to maintain homeostasis (balance) in the body. People who are depressed, or experiencing imbalances both mentally or physically, are mostly mineral-deficient, in other words, they are malnourished. A great way to nourish your body with loads of minerals, antioxidants and replenish your electrolytes is by making an organic, easily digestible, nutrient-dense, post-workout, raw-vegan smoothie. In this video below you will see an example of Running Raw athlete (who currently runs 70 miles a week and is coming in at the top 3 in snow races at 40 years old) Tim Van Orden’s post-workout smoothie, which is pretty similar to what I have every morning. (I add a couple of things for my lifestyle and chemistry, such as spirulina, bee pollen, raspberries and strawberries – all brain foods.)

Tim’s Post Work Out Smoothie:

Now all of us plant-eaters get the same questions asked 50 million times, “But where do we get protein? Don’t we need protein to build muscle? No, you build muscle by tearing muscle down and then allowing the body to grow the muscle through repair. The protein the body needs is not as much as we think – we need more complex carbs and plenty of good fats – and you can get high-quality protein in the Vegetable Kingdom.  An example of a protein-rich plant would be Chlorella, a green algae that has the highest content of quality protein and the most abundant source of chlorophyll on the planet, already broken down into amino acid form. If amino acids (the building blocks of protein, the stuff our bodies actually use) is what you want why go straight to the source and eat foods rich in amino acids (broken down protein) already! Chlorella, spirulina, bee pollen, and quinoa are some examples of high quality protein in amino acid form, containing a complete variety of amino acids. Vegan triathlete and author Brendan Brazier says: “Dark leafy greens are also high in protein, because of the amino acids in chlorophyll. You have to eat more, but it’s much better quality, and you don’t have to do as much work to break down the proteins during digestion. It’s an ‘energy conserving’ versus an ‘energy consuming’ food type. I eat a big green salad every day.” Brendan is the author of Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness.  In the video below, Brendan explains his experience with food as an athlete and provides us with some info about protein, calcium and more.

Elite endurance athlete Brendan Brazier talks about his  plant-based whole food diet and perspectives on optimal performance:

Also, drink plenty of pure water and get plenty of rest. H2o people, it is so important for the balance of the body. Water has hydrogen and oxygen, elements that go right into your cells. Oxygen is vital for fortifying our metabolism, mental functioning, cell regeneration, vitality, and anti-aging. Hydrogen is extremely important for the process of digestion, assimilation, elimination and also carrying nutrients across cell membranes. This is extremely important for everyone, but especially for athletes, because when you work out your body produces additional residual by-products that it must get rid of. We’re not talking about “sports drinks” when we talk about quality fluids. When it comes to health, a good example of a great natural drink is organic coconut water, an amazing electrolyte drink. But if it’s not organic coconut water, or a fresh organic juice, be sure to always choose pure water over any other refined sugar and who-knows-what-else-is-in-there drink. Combining pure water with rest is another great component to add as a habit to regenerate your body and be ready for the race – and ready for life. Cell regeneration (body repair mode) takes place when we sleep. With great quality, plant-based nutrition, mineral/antioxidant/electrolyte replenishment, plenty of rest and pure water, you are not just embarking on a top-notch athletic performance and body maintenance, but on a lifestyle of optimal health.

I’ll leave you with a great video by both Tim and Brendan who are the walking examples of top athletes who live and thrive with plant-based nutrition. To your optimal health, safe training, and conscious life. Enjoy!

Brendan Brazier and Tim Van Orden after a 2 hour run:

Dear HLife:  How Do I Transition Into A Plant-Based Diet?

Dear HLifer,

The act of choosing what to eat expresses a level of consciousness in a being. A plant-based diet is founded on Love, compassion and respect for our planet, as well as for all sentient beings. It is a step towards a realistic spiritual life (see Spirituality: What A Concept post), taking responsibility for the future of our planet and the continuance of the human race. First, we must understand that everyone is its own unique being, living his or her own evolutionary process. Transitioning to a plant-based diet is a process, but a conscious processes of which your mind and body will determine the speed. For example, some people take away red meat, then gradually stop eating chicken and fish. Others go vegan-raw in one day and never go back. Whichever the case may be for you, you need to do it with Knowledge of what you are doing: Know what your body needs and make sure you provide the right nourishment in order to feel balanced and energized.

What you need to know before you begin:

❇ It’s not about taking things away from your diet, it is about expanding your horizons and replacing some things with better, higher quality, organic whole foods.

❇ Learning, researching, analyzing, studying, reading about plant-based nutrition will become a part of your daily regimen in order to understand what it is that you are doing.

❇ When we say dark green leafs, we don’t mean lettuce. And, no, lettuce is not the nutritional leaf choice for our salads.

❇ Nutrition is about quality not quantity,  And by quality we mean foods that have the highest nutrient count PLUS are easy to digest, absorb and eliminate.

❇ When changing your lifestyle to a plant-based diet your body will be chemically changing right in front of your eyes, eyes that cannot see their micro-universe. You will be changing from the inside out. Don’t be surprised if the you find that you now don’t like things that you liked before and vice versa; this is normal and to be expected.  As you change your diet, you will have a new body, physically and chemically.

❇ Some kitchen tools to make your transition easier in the kitchen: high speed blender, food processor, seed grinder, great paring and chopping knife, mandoline or julienne slicer, lime presser, stainless steel pressure cooker, stainless steel medium size pot, stainless steel sauce pan, mixing bowls, salad bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoons, plastic chopping board (one for veggies and one for fruits).

❇ You are finally taking responsibility for your health and overall well-being by doing what you are doing, consciously exerting your power of choice (with knowledge), now that you choose not just what you put in your body but also WHY.

❇ You are helping our planet survive by not consuming animals that produce gigantic amounts of methane gas, which is a huge contributor to global warming.

❇ Your body is not very forgiving and when you go back to the bad stuff, it will complain  – faster and louder.

❇  If you are not doing this under the supervision or advise of a knowledgeable holistic practitioner, make sure you inform yourself daily and do things gradually to test out your system.  Some people have a bad liver, kidney issues or certain imbalances/allergies, and if you don’t prepare your body for the change you might experience uncomfortable symptoms of cleansing, such as diarrhea or gas.  This is part of the process, as your body tries to get all of the toxins out. Drink plenty of water to help.

Here at HLife we support an organic, whole foods, plant-based diet and especially a holistic lifestyle. So, our recommendations for transitioning into a plant-based diet will be Holistic = Mind, Body and Spirit.

Mind: Preparing your mind for a lifestyle shift is a must. Especially since this change will have such an amazing impact on, not just your body, but also your mind. Remember, our mind and body are one, what we do to one affects the other and visa versa. Having an optimistic, positive attitude, and being open to great change is a wonderful start for the mind. Know that through this change you will be the healer of your own self. You are in charge of your health and it is up to you to care for your cells, neurons, organs; you guys are a team and must look after one another.  That is why we are never alone. It is the beginning of your relationship with energy, with the Source, and the vegetable kingdom is the medium by which you will acquire photonic energy from the sun for your cells, and change the frequency of your body, mind and spirit. Replace your old thoughts with new ideas, thoughts, and mental associations to food.  You need to see food in a different way in order to understand why and what you are doing. Reading HLife can help you, by supporting your plant-based lifestyle and informing you with post about this subject. You Can Do It!!

Also, know that by eating a plant-based diet and healing your body with these foods, you will not only be cleaning out all the crap from your intestines but also the crap from your mind.  Your personal issues ( personal “demons”) will surface, so you can face them, understand them, transmute them and let them go. Remember: Mind and body are one. To heal the body we must also heal the mind.

Body: First step – read The Protein Myth post on HLife, so you can start to understand what protein is, and how you can replace animal protein with plant-based protein. By taking meat away, you need to replace it with other protein from plant sources, of which there are plenty like organic tempeh, bean and grain combos, nuts and seeds, quinoa, spirulina, chlorella, bee pollen, and vegetables themselves.  Don’t just stop eating something without replacing it; being malnourished and starving the body is very similar.  The point of eating is to get the right amount and quality of proteins (amino acids), complex carbohydrates, lipids (good fats), enzymes, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients in order to get nourished and create ATP (ENERGY).  We will be posting the Protein Myth Part 3 next week where we will discuss all our plant-based protein options!!

Bring more veggies into your life. Seventy to 80% of your plate should be veggies. Go to the farmers markets and grocery store and load up on ORGANIC produce. Organic, because it is about NUTRIENTS, and organic and wild produce have more nutrients than conventional as well as a higher frequency energy. You also don’t want to work your liver overtime with the pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals in conventional produce. Have fun – there are  infinite varieties and options when it comes to the vegetable kingdom. Remember that the stronger the color, the more antioxidants that fruit or vegetable contains. Antioxidants are what give vegetables and fruits their pigmentation, what keeps you young, and keeps your cells from damage. And you can only get them from the Vegetable Kingdom.

Have a raw, dark green leaf salad with every meal, if possible. Leafy greens are filled with enzymes, vitamins and minerals like calcium, some which lose their potency when cooked. Combine the salad with brown rice and beans (legumes), which make for a complete protein when eaten together (this can be 30% of your meal and your raw salad 70%). You can also lightly steam some veggies like asparagus, or broccoli and either add them to the salad or serve them as a side with some raw cashew cheese. for other meal options. It is delicious. Get some vegan, raw cook books to get some ideas and check out our HKitchen section every week for a new plant-based vegan recipe. Remember the variety of vegetables you have to create nutritious, hardy and delicious meals.  Also, bring in some whole grains like brown rice, quinoa (a complete protein all by itself!), millet, amaranth, buckwheat. I’m not a big fan of wheat because the gluten in it is an inflammatory agent, and many people develop allergies to it.  But, if you do have it, perhaps in the form of bread, have it once a day or once in a while,  and have it whole grain, organic and freshly made. Bread that comes from another state probably had to have a preservative as part of the ingredients to prevent it from molding. Who knows how many days it has been since they actually made it? And the list of ingredients for most of these items is ridiculous.  Bread doesn’t require much to make – so check the ingredients. My rule is: Organic, whole grain, freshly made, no more then 4 ingredients and NO SUGAR.

This brings me to my next point: READ LABELS.  Having a plant-based diet doesn’t mean a processed, boxed, vegetarian junk food diet.  <–NOT NUTRITION, PEOPLE. Processed sugar is poison for the mind and body and, petroleum is not for human consumption, but when you have both from GMO corn turned into a cheap sweetener that the food industry uses any possible way they can, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.  Google it and learn how many names corn syrup goes under, maltodextrin, high fructose corn syrup… hey, they even made a commercial saying “no, its not bad, its just corn!” Yeah, corn mixed with DNA of fish, fossil fuels and who knows what else. DONT BUY IT!  Read labels and read our post/video on Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills You, which will definitely get you to start reading labels, and focused on whole, plant-based foods.  Eat food people…REAL FOOD!

Spirit: Get in touch with nature. Connect. Go to some organic farms, learn about them, what they are doing, and why. Experience the people, the real farmers that take pride and love in what they do, which is cultivate the land and give us nutrient-dense produce. Learn about our planet and how it suffers from the bad and ignorant choices we make everyday with our wallets.  Love your planet; it’s a living being and it needs our help. Get in touch with it, look at it from a different perspective. Earth (Tera) could be just one cell inside a huge body that hosts all of us. Be grateful for the vegetables that bring us only great nutrients with no cholesterol or bad fat, the very veggies that have vibrational codes inside them to activate our divinity once we breakdown the cell walls by chewing and accessing the pure photo energy from the sun.  Think about your energy and how you will be cleansing and raising its vibration by ingesting high-vibration energy from the vegetable kingdom.

Be grateful, for your time has come to prepare for the upcoming cosmic alignment beginning 2012-2014, where our bodies need to be lighter and higher frequency in order to sustain the photonic energy that will come down.  A plant-based diet will help us to acclimate, and enter the alignment with ease.

This is a big question and there is still so much more I want to say, but all in due time.  Baby steps. We need to process the information and take things step by step. Change is a constant and it is a good thing, especially if it comes with positive effects.  We are beings in evolution, and evolution will keep going with or without us. Will you ride the wave or get hit by it?

“Dear HLife” is a new HLife section, where readers can send in their questions and we will answer them. Feel free to email us!

Dear HLife: I’m trying to detox my whole body. What would be my first step to do, without going to the extreme of the Master Cleanse?

Dear HLifer,

There is a misconception that detoxing is a quick-fix for a bad lifestyle. Detoxing is a temporary relief, and when you are to the point of considering a detox, what you should really be considering is overall healthier lifestyle habits. Health is a lifestyle, not a quick fix.

Even if you are doing the best detox program, if you then continue to put toxic, heavy, indigestible foods and drinks into your body after, you are reversing the effects of detoxing as you go. Im not saying don’t detox, I’m saying this is a wake-up call for a CONSCIOUS lifestyle change that needs to be maintained, along with responsible and safe detox program that may serve to jump-start or enhance it. A combination of consistent healthy eating habits, mental and emotional balance, moderate exercise and pure water is probably one of he best long-term detox programs you can adopt.

Our bodies detox everyday naturally through the colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymphatic system, and skin. That’s the way our bodies work, but when our organs are extremely overworked and stressed, not just from the environmental pollutants they are exposed to and must filter, but also from our bad food choices (processed foods, pesticides, toxins, animal protein and products, refined sugar, too much fat and caffeine etc..) a special detox would give them a break and help them get rid of all of these toxins.

The first internal organ that must be detoxed when we think about cleansing our body is the largest one: the liver. If your liver is not working properly, then “Houston, we have a problem”. So, when thinking detox, a liver cleanse is a great place to start. Picking a good liver detox program should take three things into consideration: cleansing, rebuilding, and maintaining. As the body cleanses, it is very important that it is still receiving quality nutrients like minerals, vitamins, fiber, pure water and digestible super foods that contain protein that is already in amino acid form. A good detox doesn’t starve the body or make it even more mineral deficient, something that causes so many other problems; it cleans, rebuilds and maintains. The following are some suggestions for a good detox:

• ❃ Incorporate a glass of water with lemon/lime juice into your morning routine.  Drinking this first thing will provide you with Vitamin C, a natural heavy metal toxin chelator, and it will help get rid of these types of toxins. Lemons and limes are also alkaline-forming in the body and help restore pH balance, which is crucial in cleansing.
• ❃ Three to seven day organic juice cleanse to release toxins from your system while still replenish your vitamins and minerals. Getting these nutrients already in a liquid form will give your body a rest, because it will not have to spend huge amounts of energy or resources in order to break down the food, which will allow more resources and energy to help your body cleanse and repair.
• ❃ Have fruit juices only in the morning (avoid acidic oranges), and add a pack of chlorella  granules to help keep blood sugar levels stable. Have your green juices the rest of the day. Remember: When drinking juices, always chew the liquid even though there is nothing to chew because this will help release saliva that contains enzymes that will begin to digest the food in your mouth.
• ❃ Don’t just have juice extracts; after about three days blend some of the whole veggies. Blending versus extracting will allow you to eat the fiber that gets left out in an extract, and reap the benefits, which will also cleanse your intestines.
• ❃ Homemade vegetable soups (without oil), or miso broth, are soothing. They also allow you to keep the water soluble vitamins and minerals that dissolve in the broth. The fiber from the whole vegetables will continue to cleanse you and rich broth will replenish your body with nutrients.
• ❃ After your liquid detox phase, have a dark green leafy salad every day. A good dressing is olive oil, sea salt and fresh squeezed lime juice.
• ❃ Incorporate milk thistle into your diet. Milk thistle accelerates liver regeneration by a factor of four.
• ❃ Drink a glass of pure water with chlorella granules daily. Chlorella has the highest chlorophyll count out of all the plants on the planet. Chlorophyll is a potent antioxidant, cleanses your liver, purifies your blood, and improves detoxification and overall digestion. Spirulina, another algae, is another good source of chlorophyll.  Check our Chlorella post, a featured HFood.
• ❃ The liver is a filter, just like the kidneys, and these organs work in concert with each other. Cleansing the kidneys with large amounts of pure water, as well as dandelion root tea or eating dandelion greens in a salad is a good way to help your liver cleanse as well. Parsley is another good tea or salad option.
• ❃ Dandelion is also good for the liver, as it stimulates bile flow. So do beets, artichokes and radishes.
• ❃ Incorporate cleansing, caffeine-free herbal teas into your detox. Some teas help cleanse the liver itself while others cleanse the kidneys, bladder and urinary tract. All of these filters should be in proper working conditions for your liver to work well.
• ❃ The more alkaline-generating vegetarian foods – high-water content fruits and vegetables as well as some grains and almonds – enhance cleansing. The right balance of alkaline and acid foods is the key to detoxification of the body.
• ❃ You should participate in a liver detox only as a last resort, as a liver detox by itself can only provide a limited amount of help for your body. An overall healthy diet with lots of fruit, vegetables, water and exercise is by far the best option to choose.
• ❃ After you end a detox, don’t just go back to your old eating habits. To break off a detox, ease back into regular meals gradually: Start with a macrobiotic diet, consisting of plenty of raw or steamed vegetables, brown rice, sea vegetables and miso broths. Add more products and condiments little by little to let your body adjust.

Building healthy habits in your life:

• ❃ Try to cut out refined sugars, processed foods, GMO foods, pesticide-heavy produce, animal products, caffeinated drinks, nicotine, and gluten-heavy foods.
• ❃ Try to control or minimize your alcohol intake.  The liver is in charge of filtering out alcohol from your blood, and this is an extra job it has to do on top of all of the other jobs it regularly has to do to keep you alive.
• ❃ Eat real food. Whole, unadulterated, organic, as-Mother-Nature-intended food. Your body will know what to do with it – absorb the nutrients and naturally get rid of the waste.
• ❃ Drink plenty of filtered water. Water flushes out toxins from your body.
• ❃ Rotate foods and eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Diversifying prevents allergies.
• ❃ Move from an acid diet (animal products like meat and dairy, as well as refined sugars like white bread and baked goods) to an alkaline diet (plant-based). This will help your body maintain a balanced pH, which will help keep it detoxing and clean.
• ❃ Eat natural, seasonal and local cuisine.
• ❃ Avoid toxic relationships and toxic media. Who and what you surround yourself with, and what comes in through your mind in the form of images, sounds and information, also play a role in toxicity. Detox your mind as well as your body.

Good luck to you on this wonderful journey to a healthier you, and remember: HEALTH IS A LIFESTYLE.

]]> http://hlifemedia.com/2010/01/dear-hlife-detox/feed/ 2 http://hlifemedia.com/2009/12/chlorella-an-h-superfood/ http://hlifemedia.com/2009/12/chlorella-an-h-superfood/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:28:59 +0000 Silvie Celiz http://hlifemedia.com/?p=1922

Chlorella, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  Seriously… totally in love, with this green algae.  Chlorella is a truly amazing natural superfood – whole, pure, and complete. I have to say it again and shout out to the world: I AM IN LOVE, IN LOVE, IN LOVE…”Chlorella, you had me at richest-source-of-chlorophyll-of-any-other-plant-on-the-planet-and-available-for-human-consumption.”

History: In an amazing feat of order and organization, chlorella was the first form of life with a true nucleus. Its name comes from the Greek words chloros meaning “green” and ella meaning “small”. With plenty of sunlight and fertile growing conditions, chlorella reproduces itself by cell division at the rate of four new cells every 17-24 hours. During approximately the first billion years of the Earth’s existence, its atmosphere was heavy with deadly gases, such as ammonia, methane, and carbon dioxide. It became the role of green plant life like chlorella to filter these deadly elements and slowly change the Earth’s inhabitable environment to one capable of supporting flora (plants) and fauna (animals). It was discovered in the late 19th century, but chlorella has been on this planet since the Precambrian period (over 2.5 billion years). It was not until the 1890s, however, that chlorella cells were identified by human eyes under a microscope. It was first grown in Holland in pure form in the late 1800s. Due to its high protein concentration in amino acid form (best source of absorbable protein) and rapid growth rate, chlorella was investigated after World War II as a possible commercial food source. In 1948, a pilot study at Stanford Research Institute succeeded in growing chlorella; unfortunately, it was interrupted due to financial problems. In the 1950s, the Carnegie Institute took over the study and scientists there concluded two things: That chlorella could be grown on a commercial scale, and that it could be a solution to help world hunger.

Description/Flavor: Chlorella is a single-celled freshwater algae. These algae are the richest source of chlorophyll of any other plant on the planet available for humans to consume. Chlorophyll, the chemical that gives plants their green color and is an essential compound for photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light into chemical energy. Because it comes from fresh water, its taste is mild and pleasing. It’s like momma bear’s soup: not sour, not sweet, not cold, not hot – just right! So, just drink it.

Nutritional info: Where do we even begin?  This fresh water algae provides complete protein in amino acid form (ready to be absorbed by the body,) carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, active enzymes, fiber, natural key vitamins and antioxidants, including Vitamin C, pro-Vitamin A (beta-carotene), chlorophyll, lutein, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, Vitamin B12, biotin, choline, lipoic acid, and inositol; minerals/trace minerals, including phosphorus, calcium, zinc, magnesium, and iron; and polysaccharides and other phytonutrients to optimize health and well-being.  Do we need to continue? No, but we will. Chlorella contains more “feel-good” Vitamin B12 than beef liver, has 50-60% absorbable protein in amino acid form, all the essential amino acids (including a high content of hard-to-find lysine,) and all the complex chemical compounds necessary for the protoplasm of life! It also contains the Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), a nucleotide-peptide complex of substances found only in chlorella and produced by the plant during the intense photosynthesis that enables chlorella to grow so quickly.  CGF actually gives the chlorella cell the ability to quadruple itself every 20 to 24 hours, which explains why this amazing algae has been on planet Earth for over 540 million years. IT’S A SUPERFOOD!!!!!!!!

What does chlorella mean for my health?

• ✶ Highest content of high quality protein (58%) already in amino acid form. Twice as much protein then beef (25%)!  Hello!!!

• ✶ The powerful CGF may help to enhance your body’s natural defense system activity and to remove the multitude of impurities in your body, as well as renew cellular strength and integrity.

• ✶ Multiplies the T-cells (your internal micro army) in your immune system, due to the amazing CGF.

• ✶ Chlorella makes friendly bacteria grow 4 times faster than any other food (see our post Probiotics: Good Bacteria We Want To Have.)

• ✶ The cell wall material of chlorella is beneficial for intestinal and bowel health, detoxifying the colon and promoting friendly bacteria.

• ✶ Eliminates heavy metals like lead, mercury, copper, and cadmium. Some studies show that chlorella binds to harmful pesticides and insecticides like PCBs and DDT (linked to breast cancer,) and carries them out of the body.

• ✶ Strengthens the liver, your body’s mayor detoxifying organ, to rid you of infective agents.

• ✶ Reduces arthritis stiffness,

• ✶ Relieves indigestion, hiatal hernia, gastritis, ulcers, and improves digestion.

• ✶ Decreases menopausal complaints by assisting with estrogen production in the body.

• ✶ Effective in weight-loss programs with its cleansing ability and rich nutrition that keeps the energy up and maintains muscle mass.

• ✶ Test published in the journal Ethnopharmacology showed chlorella preventing cancer in 80% of lab animals tested.

• ✶ In test at the Medical College of Virginia, chlorella was given to twenty human patients with advanced form of conventionally incurable brain cancer.  Two years after the treatment, seven of the patients were still alive, with no traces of cancer in their body.

• ✶ Chlorella can promote cell reproduction, reduce cholesterol and increase hemoglobin levels.

Application: We’ve been using it in granules for a long time, from the brand Sun Chlorella. We like this brand because its chlorella is already pulverized, with the cell wall broken, for easy digestion and absorbability. Sun Chlorella’s cell wall pulverization technology is an ideal physical method in accordance with natural law, not using any chemicals, enzymes, or heat.  The digestibility of the chlorella in Sun Chlorella improves dramatically, reaching over 80% absorption and achieving 95%-99% pulverized cell wall, allowing maximum digestibility of its exceptional nutrients and its purifying cell wall.  We put one pack (3 grams of chlorella) in a 8 oz glass of water 30 minutes before breakfast in the morning.  Or we will drink it 30 minutes before going to bed.  When we sleep, our body regenerates its cells, so it’s a perfect time for chlorella to come in and work its magic.

Fall in love with chlorella… obviously, we have.

Sources: American Cancer Society , chlorella-europe.com, Healthy Healing by Linda Page, http://tuberose.com/Chlorella.html, sunchlorellausa.com

Image via ebfarm.com

All food is not created equal.  As you read in our post Why Organic?, buying organic means no genetically modified organisms (“frankenfoods”,) synthetic pesticides or herbicides in your fruits and vegetables, among other benefits (check out the video below.) Still, organic food is not readily available everywhere the way it is here in Los Angeles.  So, for those of you who can’t always buy organic but wish to give your liver a break and avoid eating as many pesticides as you can, here is a wonderful tool: The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides.

Compiled by the Environmental Working Group after extensive testing and research on the varying amount of pesticides in each conventionally grown fruit and vegetable, the Guide will help you steer clear of the foods that contain the most toxic chemicals and feel OK about buying non-organic crops that have the lowest amounts of bad stuff. The Group checked for how many different pesticides (some items like bell peppers had up to 11 pesticides in one sample!) as well as how much of each pesticide a crop sample had, and provides an overall percentage rating of most toxic to least toxic.

The Dirty Dozen are the foods with the most pesticides (in order from most to less,) which you should definitely buy organic (the pesticides are in the conventionally grown crops, not the organic ones. Remember, “organic” by law means no synthetic pesticides.) The Clean 15 are the foods with the least amount of pesticides (in order from least to more,) which you are OK buying not organic (conventionally grown.)

You can download a copy of the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides to keep for reference (fits perfectly on your iPhone!) at www.foodnews.org. Be sure to donate $5 to this org – they’re helping keep your liver and kidneys clear of toxic chemicals!

Dirty Dozen (Highest in pesticides – Be sure to buy these organic!):

1. Peach
2. Apple
3. Bell Pepper
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes (imported)
11. Carrot
12. Pear

Clean 15 (Lowest in pesticides):

1. Onion
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn (but this is a top GMO crop, so I always buy it organic!)
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet Peas
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Papaya
12. Watermelon
13. Broccoli
14. Tomato
15. Sweet Potato

There you have it.  We always opt for and recommend organic here at HLife, if availability and money permit, as that is the only way to completely steer clear of all synthetic pesticides.  As the Environmental Working Group notes on their site, studies show that pesticides are directly linked to cancer, nervous system diseases, and reproductive problems. Also, buying organic is an environmentally sound choice.

Remember that you change your body for the better or for the worse with every thing you put in it, so, get educated, be good to yourself and the planet, and eat for health as well as taste!