Nutrition

Nutrition

Sorenson’s Ranch School offers diverse classes to help troubled teens

January 24, 2011
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Sorenson’s Ranch School offers diverse classes to help troubled teens

Education Articles | December 17, 2009

At Sorenson’s Ranch students learn in the classroom and also by real life experience.  Troubled teens often need their minds challenged and Sorenson’s ranch is able to do that on an individual basis with the low number of students in each class.

The elective classes offered at Sorenson’s Ranch School are very diverse. As an example Foods and Nutrition classes help students learn to prepare and eat nutritous meals and the importance eating right plays in overall health. They learn that making physical activity a part of that their daily routine is also an essential part of their well-being. At Sorenson’s Ranch School, struggling teens have the opportunity to participate in cooking labs once a week. In these labs they learn basic cooking techniques, such as reading a recipe, measuring, and preparing healthy menus. The students are always under close supervision, and are able to learn essential life skills. Another unique area in which Sorenson’s Ranch helps troubled teens and students is learning about finances. When did you first learn about balancing a checkbook? When did you learn about managing your credit cards and other finances? Many troubled youth in today’s society do not fully understand these and other financial concepts<img src="http://www.articlesfactory.com/pic/x.gif" alt="Free Articles" border="0", so Sorenson’s Ranch offers a Financial Literacy course. The course helps students learn to write checks and will help them understand how the banking system works. They learn about insurance and investments and they use a “Hands on Banking” interactive computer course that will help them become more financially responsible. These unique classes and many others help Sorenson’s Ranch assist troubled teens in receiving the education that they need. Small class sizes and a dedicated staff make the education at Sorenson’s effective and life-changing. Education is important and cannot be overlooked when searching for a troubled youth camp or boot camp program. Sorenson’s Ranch School has the necessary tools to help students overcome their problems. Call 1-800-455-4590 today for more information. You can also visit the Sorenson’s Ranch website at http://www.sorensonsranch.com

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Sorenson’s Ranch School, Sorenson’s Ranch, Ranch School, Troubled Teens, Learn About

Sorenson’s Ranch School with over 30 years experience helping troubled teens. 410 North 100 East, Koosharem, Utah, USA, 84744 Phone 1-800-455-4590 http://www.sorensonsranch.com

Ethiopia’s Worst Famine in 20 Years

January 23, 2011
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These should be reasonably good times for Tadese Konta in the lowlands of southern Ethiopia. The spring rains should have come two months ago, her young husband should be out ploughing and planting their small plot of land, food aid should have arrived, and their cow ought to be giving them a small income.

Instead, Tadese sits with 14 other women cradling her severely malnourished son in a small room in the clinic at Damot Wayde, not knowing whether her family will ever recover from the longest drought anyone has known.

Last week her animal died, the rains had still not come, and because her name is not on the village list for food distribution, she and her three children have eaten next to nothing for months.

She has sold all she can, borrowed from her neighbours and now, fatalistically, she says that she is waiting for God or the government to help.

Neither are in evidence in Damot Wayde.

Nightmare scenario

The largest emergency food aid programme in the world is in top gear, shipping tens of thousands of tonnes of mainly US grain to Ethiopia each month, but it is proving pitifully inadequate for what are thought to be millions of people in Tadese’s situation.

Ethiopia, in the grip of drought, needs far more food than expected only three months ago.

Because of a sixth poor rainy season in three years, the authorities and western charities overseeing food distribution are beginning to accept that 20 million people – not 13 million as originally thought – may now need help at least until the end of the year to avoid destitution and starvation.

“The situation is deteriorating rapidly and the government’s nightmare scenario is coming true,” said Carol Morgan, the head of Concern Ethiopia, one of the largest western charities in the country.

“Despite food getting in, malnourishment is growing alarmingly in some areas. This is now worse than the 1984 famine, when only 10 million people needed food. The need is far greater.”

A new nutrition assessment carried out by Concern in Damot Wayde county found growing gaps emerging between people’s needs and the assistance they were receiving.

Pre-harvest estimates by the government, the UN and charities in October suggested 22% of the county’s population of 200,000 people would need food aid this year, but this has now been revised to more than 30%, with more than 10% of people found to be already acutely malnourished.

On top of that, the report found that many people who were in real need were ineligible for food aid, and the targeting of the most vulnerable by the government was poor.

The report also found that measles and malaria outbreaks had further weakened the population, and they are now affecting up to 60% of people in some areas. Cattle have been found to be dying in large numbers, and food and grain prices have increased dramatically.

Other aid agencies distributing food in Ethiopia this week reported similar situations.

The problem is said by charities to be particularly bad in Ethiopia’s remote southern provinces.

In Arusi Wayde, a small lowland village, farmers said that one in three people were now malnourished and that families were sharing their food aid because there was not nearly enough to go around.

“Most of us have just enough to stay alive, but others are not eligible for food,” said one of the elders in the village.

“More than 400 cattle have died in the past two weeks in this area alone. We depend on them for everything, but we estimate one in seven of our goats, sheep, cows and donkeys have already died and the rest are too weak to plough.”

“The situation is grave and worsening,” said Tilaye Taswe, the head of the nearby health centre which has been overrun by the hungry.

“Every month more and more people are coming to the health centre with malnourished children.

“If the drought continues we can expect many deaths in the next few months. The situation is grave. There are many more people in the villages who need treatment, but we only have two rooms and cannot take more. Even with food aid, at least 10% of people are malnourished. Without it, perhaps 40% of people would be in a very serious situation.”

Twin emergencies

Aid agencies are increasingly concerned that western countries will ignore Ethiopia in the rush to provide food for Iraq.

Only 54% of the 2m tonnes of food thought to have been needed to feed the country three months ago has so far been pledged, and while supplies are guaranteed for the next six weeks, there are uncertainties about whether the world can cope with two of the largest food emergencies known in the past 50 years.

Earlier this week the World Food Programme said that 40 million people in Africa needed food aid.

“In a normal year the food distribution system works well, but it is becoming overstretched,” said Ms Morgan. “Ethiopia just does not have the resources to distribute the food quickly enough.”

· Crossing the continent

People seen as under threat of famine in Africa:

Ethiopia 20 million

Zimbabwe 7 million

Malawi 3.2 million

Sudan 2.9 million

Zambia 2.7 million

Angola 1.9 million

Eritrea 1 million

Plus around 7.3 million across Swaziland, Congo, Uganda, Congo Brazzaville, Lesotho and Mozambique

Exercise For College Students

January 23, 2011
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For anyone, especially college students, finding time to work out can be challenging. Most college kids cannot afford to install gym flooring, home exercise equipment, or home fitness equipment into their little apartments to avoid going to health center. There is also the issue of time commitment. Most students today go to school full time and either work full time as well or they work at least some kind of part time job to help pay for their education. Between work, school, and friends, it is hard to find time to get a good half hour to workout let alone the recommended hour per day. Below are some tips to getting time in to work out:

1. Get up before class or work to workout either at the house or at a workout facility. The morning is the best time to work out, so getting up a little earlier to workout is optimal. Even if it is just an extra half hour early, you can still get in some good physical activity. Plus, all you have to do is wake up early; you do not have to add much extra to your morning routine, since you would take a shower anyway in the morning all you would be doing is adding physical activity.

2. Instead of going to the bar or to a movie with friends do some physical activity. This can also be a great date idea. Most college campuses have recreational facilities where students can play all different types of sports year round. Tennis and golf are good for going on a date. Soccer, basketball, flag football, and swimming are all excellent choices for groups. The other great thing about going in a group is that you are more likely to stay longer and get a better workout than if you were to do these activities on your own.

3. If you do not want to get up early or if class or work starts very early for you, then do your workout after class or work. This is also a good time to get some homework or reading accomplished if you prefer to work out after class or work. Many students often say they do not have time to work out because they have too much reading or other homework to do. Well, if you bring your reading with you to the workout facilities, you do not have to worry about getting behind on reading for class.

4. Finally, the weekends are usually the best times to get in some physical activity. There is no class on the weekends, which means there is more time to work out. This is also the best time to find friends to go with you because the stress of class and work has people ready to get release stress.

It can be very challenging for college students to find time to work out. This is part of the reason there are so many health problems facing our nation today. It is important for people to start working out while they are young, so these habits stay with them throughout their entire lives. Working out can be fun if and stress free if it is worked into a routine while people are still young. It is good to establish good habits at an early age.

How to Make Your Thighs Bigger

January 23, 2011
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Your legs are made up of three groups of muscles; the frontal thigh muscles called the “quadriceps”, the muscles at the back of your thigh called the “hamstring” (which acts like a bicep), and the calf muscles on the lower leg. How to make your thighs bigger, you need to learn the exercises for ALL the muscles of your legs.

For the average person, the legs make up two-thirds of their overall body weight. Unlike the torso which is essentially hollow but filled with both organs and air spaces, the legs are solid muscle. Therefore, being large muscles, the legs and in particular the thighs will require lots of exercise in order get them bigger.

There is much written about working out the legs, and many, many exercises that can be done to make your thighs bigger. Here we’ll just touch on a few you can try.

The Squat

Arguably, the best exercise workout for getting your thighs bigger is the squat. Because squats require quite a lot of exertion, they are usually only used by serious bodybuilders rather than just for a general workout. Preferably, squats are performed with barbells, but they can be done with a weight-loaded Smith machine.

Squats can be performed with the weight on your shoulders, or held in front at chest level. They can also be done with the heels raised or on flat feet. However they are performed, you should never lock your legs out straight when coming up, as the tension then comes off your muscles.

You can use a bench as a gauge of how far to come down, or just keep going until your bottom hits your heels. Where you point your knees and how far apart you put your feet determines whether you work the inner, outer or upper thighs.

A key to how to make your thighs bigger is to perform several different types of squats for three sets of ten repetitions.

• Barbell Squat
Using an Olympic bar, weights and a squat rack, raise your heels and come down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. You should use as much weight as you can handle, enough so you struggle to do the ten reps.

• Barbell Squat Wide Stance
Elevate your heels and spread your legs wide, then point your knees outward as you squat. This will workout your inner thighs.

• Hack Squat
Hold the barbell down behind your buttocks, and with your heels raised, squat until the weights almost touch the floor

Leg Presses

• Leg Press Machine
The placement of your feet on the foot pads while seated will determine if you work out inner, outer or upper thighs.

• Decline Leg Press Machine
The same applies here as above in regards to feet placement. The buttocks can also get worked depending on how deep you go.

Leg Extension Machine
Leg extensions work all portions of muscles in the thighs.

Thigh Curls
Thigh curls will build really help to build your hamstrings. You can use a thigh curl machine or a cable-and-pulley machine with ankle straps.

Abductor and Adductor Machines
These machines work both your inner thighs and your hip flexors. It is important to develop these areas as they add to the overall look of your thighs. If these machines are unavailable, a cable-and-pulley machine may be enough.

Dumbbell Lunges
These will build the muscles on the rear of the thigh, including your buttocks. They’re also great for the hips and flexibility of the lower body.

These exercises combined will unlock the secret to how to make your thighs bigger.

Adzuki Beans

January 23, 2011
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Grown all throughout the Himalayas and parts of East Asia, the adzuki beans are native to China and are also known as Vigna angularis. If you are wondering what are adzuki beans, they are small regular looking beans which are reddish brown in color and have a white ridge on one edge. They are usually sweet, but also have a slightly nutty flavor which gives them their uniqueness. Among the various types of beans, these contain one of the highest sources of proteins and consist of very low fat content. They are also considered to be a very healthy beans and is used in all types of food preparations from salads to curries! In the coming up paragraphs, you will read more about the adzuki beans and its benefits, so scroll down.

Adzuki Beans Nutrition

The nutrition facts of adzuki beans are quite similar to other beans, as there are many important nutrients which find their sources in these beans. Other than being rich in proteins, adzuki beans are also rich in potassium, fiber, B vitamins (thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin) and minerals (iron, zinc, and manganese). A number of studies have proven that these beans also have many health benefits which are very important for our body metabolism and functioning. In the table below, there is a brief description about what are the adzuki beans nutrition facts for a serving size of about 230 g, so take a look.

Calories – 294
Carbohydrates – 57 g
Fats – 0.23 g
Protein – 17.3 g
Dietary Fiber – 16.8 g
Magnesium – 119.6 mg
Iron – 4.6 mg
Zinc – 4.0 mg
Potassium – 1223 mg
Folate – 278 mcg
There are many healthy benefits of these adzuki beans, as they are a rich source of all the important nutrients mentioned in the table above. They can be readily used in weight loss diets and in healthy eating programs, as they provide essential proteins. Adzuki beans also consist of protease inhibitors, which help in inhibiting the growth of cancerous cells so to keep the body away from any type of cancer. Regular bowel movements and speeding up the process of elimination of wastes from the body, is another benefit which can be drawn from these beans. They lower the level of LDL cholesterol in the blood as they consist of soluble fibers.

Adzuki Beans Recipes

Adzuki Beans Salad
Ingredients
4 slices organic bacon
4 cups dried adzuki beans
1 cup filtered water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
Directions
To start with adzuki beans cooking, you need to wash them and soak them overnight in water. You can use many dried beans recipes, for these beans as well. After they are soaked, drain them and then rinse them with water once. In a large pot, add water, add the soaked beans and place it on the heat, bring it to boil so that the beans are cooked well. Then, add the sea salt so that the flavor is seeped through the beans. Remove them from the heat, and drain them in a large salad bowl, add the organic bacon, fresh cut tomatoes, onions, chopped lettuce leaves, coriander and other ingredients used in salads, then sprinkle the pepper, garlic powder and the chili powder for taste. Toss the salad and serve it with tortilla or nacho chips!

Adzuki Beans Soup
Ingredients
3 cups adzuki beans
5 cups water
2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 diced carrots
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
Directions
For this bean soup recipe soak the beans, as mentioned in the recipe above, and then while preparing the soup, add 3 cups of water to a pot and place it on medium heat. Then add the beans to the water and bring it to boil, make sure that the beans are cooked. Add salt to taste, simmer for about 20 minutes, and then add cumin and white pepper. In another pan, saute the carrots and ginger in olive oil till they are tender and then, add these to the soup pot with the beans. Let it thicken to the desired consistency and then serve it hot.

With this useful information about adzuki beans, and its health benefits, you must have found another important bean that can be a great addition to your diet. Well, make sure you include this one, because beans are very important for growing children.

Four Drinks to Improve Your Health

January 22, 2011
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When you’re thirsty, what do you reach for? When you’re having dinner, or at a bar, or just rolling out of bed? The choices are huge, and range from the most awful of ice-cream concoction smoothie monsters at fast food joints that weigh in at a couple of thousand calories to simple water (though even water is no longer really that simple). What is the best bet for any given social situation? Here we provide you with a guide to help you navigate the treacherous shoals of drinking dilemmas, and point out why you should reach for this, and not for that.

Best Pre-Workout Drink/Wake Up Drink/Fat Burning Drink

Can there really be just one beverage that tops all those different categories? Why yes there can. Coffee is the all-time champ when it comes to a variety of duties, and those all stem from its one, wondrous component: caffeine. This stimulant is responsible for a host of benefits. Drinking coffee before a workout will stimulate you to workout harder and longer, giving you more push and helping you develop greater results. Caffeine also has been demonstrated to reduce muscle soreness after workouts, and allowing you recover faster as a result. Finally, coffee is still a kick-ass way to wake up in the mornings if you need that extra push.

Health Benefits

Green tea really is out and out the way to go. If you are looking for a miracle substance that can do almost anything, then green tea is it. Whether you drink it hot or iced, just be sure to drink it, and frequently. The now famous Japanese studied showed that regular imbibulation of green tea can decrease all causes of mortality by a significant degree. You should be aiming for at least two cups of green tea per day, and if possible, up to four. Honestly, it’s worth it.

Recovery Drink

If you’re looking to hydrate and cram as much nutritional goodness as you can into your system immediately after a workout, you should be quaffing chocolate milk. Yes, you heard me right, not some fancy chemical concoction, but good old fashioned chocolate milk. The combination of protein and carbs is fantastic for your recovery, and it has been shown to be better than Gatorade or water for hydration purposes. Skeptical? Get online and google chocolate milk as a recovery drink. What you’ll read will tell you all you need to know.

Fun

But we can’t always be working out and drinking with health in mind; sometimes you’re drinking to your health and everybody else’s, and that’s when you need to order up a cup of wine. Red wine specifically abounds with Resveratrol, a phytoalexin that has anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar lowering and other beneficial cardiovascular benefits. It’s really quite fantastic, and if you get dry red wine you’re not getting that many calories either compared to a beer or a murderous margarita. But don’t drink more than a couple of them; alcohol isn’t that great for you, you know?

Sorenson’s Ranch School offers diverse classes to help troubled teens

January 22, 2011
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Sorenson’s Ranch School offers diverse classes to help troubled teens

Education Articles | December 17, 2009

At Sorenson’s Ranch students learn in the classroom and also by real life experience.  Troubled teens often need their minds challenged and Sorenson’s ranch is able to do that on an individual basis with the low number of students in each class.

The elective classes offered at Sorenson’s Ranch School are very diverse. As an example Foods and Nutrition classes help students learn to prepare and eat nutritous meals and the importance eating right plays in overall health. They learn that making physical activity a part of that their daily routine is also an essential part of their well-being. At Sorenson’s Ranch School, struggling teens have the opportunity to participate in cooking labs once a week. In these labs they learn basic cooking techniques, such as reading a recipe, measuring, and preparing healthy menus. The students are always under close supervision, and are able to learn essential life skills. Another unique area in which Sorenson’s Ranch helps troubled teens and students is learning about finances. When did you first learn about balancing a checkbook? When did you learn about managing your credit cards and other finances? Many troubled youth in today’s society do not fully understand these and other financial conceptsPsychology Articles

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Sorenson’s Ranch School, Sorenson’s Ranch, Ranch School, Troubled Teens, Learn About

Sorenson’s Ranch School with over 30 years experience helping troubled teens. 410 North 100 East, Koosharem, Utah, USA, 84744 Phone 1-800-455-4590 http://www.sorensonsranch.com

McDonald’s Adds Yet Another Warning to French Fries

January 22, 2011
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McDonald’s Corp. announced this week that the French fries served in their restaurants are not gluten-free. Until this announcement the company had said that its fries did not contain gluten and milk or wheat allergens, so they were safe for people with dietary problems related to eating dairy products. Gluten can cause allergic reactions or medical problems in food-sensitive customers.

The company’s announcement has angered and worried many consumers who are on gluten-free diets, because they had been reassured by McDonald’s that it was safe to eat their French fries. McDonald’s claims that they recently learned about the gluten due to new testing methods begun last year. New rules by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration require that the packaged foods industry report the presence of common allergens such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish, or peanuts be reported to consumers on packaging. McDonald’s is a restaurant operator and not in the packaged food industry, so they do not have to comply with the FDA’s guidelines, but they say they are doing so voluntarily.

Cathy Kapica, McDonald’s director of global nutrition, said that the company’s potato suppliers remove all wheat and dairy proteins, such as gluten, but the flavoring agent in the cooking oil is a derivative of wheat and dairy ingredients. The company decided that they should let consumers know about that, so they posted a discreet notice on their website’s listing for French fries that says, “Contains wheat and milk ingredients.” Kapica said that the company wants to make consumers aware that the fries are derived in part from wheat and dairy sources, she claimed that those who have eaten McDonald’s fries without having any problems can continue to do so. “We knew there were always wheat and dairy derivatives in there, but they were not the protein component,” she said. “Technically there are no allergens in there. What this is an example of is science evolving” she said.

Although McDonald’s says that it is advising consumers whenever they discover previously unknown facts about their products that might affect their customers, many of those customers aren’t buying their claims of not knowing. “If they’re saying there’s wheat and dairy derivatives in the oil, as far as anyone with this disease is concerned there’s actually wheat in it,” said New York resident Jillian Williams, one of more than 2 million Americans with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten. “They should have disclosed that all along,” she said. “They should never have been calling them gluten-free.”

McDonald’s fries have been the subject of scrutiny several times over the last several years. In 2002, the company paid $10 million to settle a lawsuit by vegetarian groups after the truth came out about their restaurants cooking fries in beef-flavored oil, despite the company’s claims for over a decade prior to then that they had replaced beef tallow with pure vegetable oil. Last year at this time, McDonald’s paid $8.5 million to settle a suit by a nonprofit advocacy group, who accused the company of misleading consumers by announcing plans to change its cooking oil and delaying the change for months.

McDonald’s has been reluctant to change the taste of their top-selling item, so they continue to say that they are conducting testing to make their fries healthier without sacrificing flavor. And in doing so, they claim they are being forthright about telling the public what their test reveal, such as last week’s announcement about their famous fries actually contain 30 fat grams instead of the 25 they had previously claimed, and 30% more trans fats. Kapica said, “It’s a very high priority and we are very committed to continuing with testing and lowering the level of trans fat without raising the level of saturated fat. … It’s a lot harder than we originally thought but that is not stopping us.”

Kale Nutrition Facts

January 22, 2011
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If you’re a hardcore steak-and-potatoes person, then the thought of eating green veggies must appear nothing short of a punishment to you – right? Well, besides the taste factor, meat, poultry and seafood are also extremely rich sources of dietary nutrition – this is what you would argue, won’t you? Hey, don’t get me wrong here – I am absolutely no practitioner of vegetarianism! Of course non vegetarian dietary options are some of the most rich sources of certain extremely essential nutrients like iron, proteins and calcium. Therefore, your argument has as much ring of truth as the statement, “The sun rises in the East”, has! However, if you go through the various kale nutrition facts discussed in the subsequent paragraphs, you might assume a more favorable attitude towards green vegetables! After all, you can always strike a harmonious balance between vegetables and non-veg food items in your daily diet! It’s like taking in the benefits of both!

Nutritional Facts of Kale

Before jumping to kale nutrition facts, let’s take a look at some generic facts about kale. Also known as borecole, kale is a form of cabbage which may be green or red in color and in which the inner leaves, at the very center of the cabbage, do not cluster into a cabbage head. It is a close relative of most wild cabbages as well as some well known cabbages such as broccoli, collard greens, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. Besides being a very good source of vitamins and minerals which makes it a significant vegetarian culinary candidate, kales also have decorative value. Yes, flowering kales come in a variety of pastel shades and are mostly cultivated for their ornamental leaves of various vibrant hues! Owing to this same reason, flowering kales, which are edible as well, are used to garnish many dishes – these colorful and curly leaves add color to any platter!

Check out the following table on kale nutritional value to get a load on the health benefits of kale cabbage.

Kale Nutrient
Content in 1 Cup (67 g approx.)
Ash
1.0 g
Betaine
0.1 mg
Calcium
90.5 mg
Carbohydrates
6.7 g
Copper
0.2 mg
Fats
0.5 g
Iron
1.1 mg
Zinc
0.3 mg
Magnesium
22.8 mg
Sodium
28.8 mg
Manganese
0.5 mg
Selenium
0.6 mcg
Phosphorus
37.5 mg
Potassium
299 mg
Proteins
2.2 g
Vitamin A
10302 IU
Thiamine
0.1 mg
Riboflavin
0.1 mg
Niacin
0.7 mg
Vitamin B6
0.2 mg
Vitamin C
80.4 mg
Vitamin E
321.6 mg
Vitamin K
547 mcg
Folic Acid
19.4 mcg
Vitamin B5
0.1 mg
Water
56.6 g

Kale Nutrition Benefits

Judging by the above mentioned kale nutrition facts, it must have registered to you by now what a storehouse of health benefits this cabbage must be. True to this assumption, kale is indeed a treasure house of health and nutrition. All those vitamins make kale an excellent storehouse of antioxidants and a reservoir of energy and vitality. Proteins, calcium and other minerals promise to strengthen the biological building blocks of muscles, bones, teeth and nerves. Iron takes care of mental concentration and red blood cell formation while potassium keeps a check on heart health and blood pressure. Vitamins A and C ensure accelerated cell repair leading to good eyesight, great skin and healthy mucus membrane. Vitamin K acts auxiliary to calcium in strengthening teeth and bones besides keeping the possibility of neuronal damage at an arm’s length.

Therefore, it can be said in conclusion to the above discussion of kale nutrition facts that kale is an excellent reservoir of nutrients and fortifies the body against osteoporosis, anemia, cardiovascular diseases, prostate cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. Being extremely low in fats and high in antioxidants, this cabbage is excellent at keeping cholesterol in check. Therefore, I think it would be wise to make some place for this powerhouse vegetable on that plate heaped with steaks, sausages and buffalo wings! What say?

The Raw Food Solution with Paul Nison

January 22, 2011
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The Raw Food Solution with Paul Nison

Health Articles | October 23, 2004

“Your food shall be your remedies, and your remedies shall be your food.” — Hippocrates

“Always take a good look at what you’re about to eat. It’s not so important to know what it is, but it’s critical to know what it was.” –Texas Bix Bender, “Cowboy Wisdom”

It seems a particularly Western idea that in order to attain a high level of health, it must be something we eat, drink or otherwise ingest. The search for a “magic pill,” fueled by unrelenting pharmaceutical media campaigns, enforces this belief. “Here, take this for your headache, take these to lose that weight, and smear this stuff on your face for everlasting beauty,” yell the pitch men–and we obey, opening our wallets and in many cases ignoring common sense in doing so.

Other cultures focus on such things as yoga, breath, mantras and karma. More archaic societies focused on spirits, gods, ancestor worship, and shamanistic blessings. Of course, these time-intensive alternatives would never do for our breakneck lifestyles where instant gratification is aim of most daily or weekly endeavors.

A fine compromise between these two divergent health strategies is the raw food lifestyle. This month we spoke with raw food advocate, Paul Nison, who was in town on yet another tour of the country touting the true health benefits of eating raw food.

“People are getting interested in it for several reasons,’ observes Paul. “One reason is that they’re sick and they hear that it will cure them. Another reason is it’s a trend, or people think it’s a trend. Hollywood’s picking up on it, so people want to follow what’s in trend. But it’s not really a trend. It’s a diet–it’s a way of eating. People just want to feel better, and they want to avoid disease and illness. They see people who are doing this with such great results, and it makes so much sense, that they figure they’re going to try it.”

Paul was led inadvertently to the raw food lifestyle at age 19 via a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis–one of the most painful of intestinal disorders. “I got colitis flare-ups about six times per year,” says Paul. “Every time I went to the doctor, she told me to stay away from dairy foods until I felt better. Then she increased the dosage of steroids she was giving me. When I felt better after a few weeks, she said it was okay to eat dairy foods again. After that I began to eliminate whatever the doctors told me was okay to eat. Eggs, meat, and sugar to name just a few. I told my doctor I felt better without these foods. She told me food had nothing to do with my condition. After hearing that from her, I knew I was on the right track.”

As Paul continued to eliminate cooked foods from his diet, he also continued to research the lifestyle, being greatly influenced by Dave Klein (Publisher/Editor of Living Nutrition magazine), and David Wolfe, who had books and radio programs circulating. Joining raw food support groups, and networking with other raw fooders, Paul ended up with a 100% raw diet. “Since going 100% raw, I have completely overcome ulcerative colitis. I feel better than ever and have become increasingly inspired about life. I quit my stressful job and began working as a raw food chef in a vegetarian restaurant. I organize raw-food potlucks every month. I have started a raw food support group, and I give lectures on the raw food lifestyle to help others that have gotten their wake-up call.”

One misconception about adopting a raw food diet is that it is time-consuming, and complicated. Paul points out that it is really just a matter of doing the learning curve and being aware and alert to raw opportunities. “It’s the quickest, the easiest, the cheapest, and has the most variety of foods of any type of diet in the world. So any of those reasons alone would be positive reasons why to eat this way,” enthuses Paul.

Transitioning
Paul has written three books. His first, The Raw Life presents practical, easy and smart ways to incorporate raw foods into a cooked diet, and how to transition to 100% raw. He has interviewed dozens of long-time raw foodists, who divulge their strategies and ways of thinking about eating.

Making the transition to raw food also takes some self-reflection and an awareness of habitual patterns. “I find that people eat too much sugar, too much fat, too much protein and too little green food,” says Paul. “Then they switch to a vegetarian diet, but keep doing the same thing, and keep running into the same problems. Then they switch to a raw diet, but continue to eat too much sugar and too much fat and too little green food, and they run into the same health problems.”

Variety is the key to consistency in any diet, and raw fooding is no exception. Cravings for such things as pizza, lasagna, ice cream, pies, and candy can, amazingly enough, be mimicked with raw, uncooked foods. “There is such an amazing variety of raw foods, but people aren’t aware of it,” says Paul. “People need to get a raw food recipe book and make some recipes. Anything you can make on a cooked food diet, you can eat on a raw food diet. You can make raw food pizzas, you can make raw food hamburgers, raw food pies. You can make lasagna–you can make everything with raw foods.”

Lately Paul has been traveling the world to experience new cultures and exotic fruits, and although he travels to native climes, most exotic fruits and vegetables are available in America. “There are so many kinds of fruits in this world, you could eat one different fruit every day for the rest of your life and not come close to tasting all the fruits of the world. We get most of them in this country. They don’t grow here, but we get them here. People have to open up their horizons and shop at Asian markets or Latin groceries and see the different types of foods that are out there.”

Just going to Safeway and rummaging around in the produce section, isn’t going to fully accomplish shopping goals for raw fooding. Several factors come into play, as Paul points out: “The most important thing when eating raw food, is we want it to be the highest quality possible. That would be raw, fresh, ripe and organic. Now, it’s very easy in today’s world to get raw and organic. Ripe and fresh is another story. You’ve got to work really hard to find where we can get ripe and fresh foods. But raw and organic is everywhere. Organic is so important because it’s a high quality food, and when it’s not, it’s a low quality food. Some of the dirtiest water we can get comes from un-organic fruits and vegetables.” Paul recommends searching the internet for resources in local areas, as well as hooking up with raw food groups that are springing up everywhere.

Raw fooding is basically anti-technological. “”We don’t need anything other than our fingers. We don’t even need utensils when we’re eating raw, uncooked vegetables and fruits,” notes Paul. “However, there are some things that will make things easier, but they’re not definitely needed. A good blender, a juicer, a knife and a cutting board, are the four things I would highly recommend.”

Food isn’t everything…
In his travels, Paul has heard it all when it comes to symptoms, diseases and conditions people want to heal by raw fooding. “Probably the most popular problem is problems with Candida, which is actually one of the major causes of more severe health problems,” declares Paul. “Everything from cancer to arthritis, to chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel disease, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes–the raw food diet will heal every disease out there that is caused by diet. But, a person won’t necessarily stay healed if they’re only going to look to food for the answer. There are spiritual ways to heal, also. For example, if a person is eating the best diet in the world, but they’re holding on to bitterness, and they’re not forgiving other people for things, they could very well get some diseases. Vice versa, somebody could eat badly, and have that down and be healthy. There are many factors other than just food that affect our healthPsychology Articles

GRAPHICS/LINKS: http://www.subtleenergysolutions.com/newsletter-paulnison.html

Boyd is the webmaster of www.subtleenergysolutions.com and the newsletter writer for that site. He enjoys a wide range of experience both in the ways of the internet, alternative health, environmental issues, and in freelance writing. An active, professional drummer, Boyd performs in the Portland area with several area blues and R&B bands. Boyd is also an avid, daily practicing Bikram Yoga student.

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