How to Grow Your Own Superfood - Tips for Growing Kale

It seems too good to be true - just one cup is packed with almost as much vitamin C as an orange, and the equivalent amount of calcium as milk. Also rich in antioxidants, protein, omega-3s and 18 amino acids. But unless it's organic, I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole.

May 26, 2017

Story at-a-glance-

• Kale is rich in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins A, C and K, calcium, protein, lutein, zeaxanthin, and also provides plant-based omega-3 and 18 amino acids
• Conventionally-grown kale is frequently contaminated with high amounts of pesticides, making it important to buy organic. Better yet, grow your own. Kale is easy to grow and one of the most pest-resistant vegetables
• Three or four plants can supply enough greens each week for a family of four, and the plants grow well in containers if you don’t have a backyard. Many gardeners appreciate kale for their ornamental value as well

By Dr. Mercola

Kale1 — a well-recognized "superfood" — is rich in healthy fiber and antioxidants, and is one of the best sources of vitamin A, which promotes eye and skin health and may help strengthen your immune system, and vitamin K.

A 1-cup serving has almost as much vitamin C as an orange and as much calcium as a cup of milk. It's also an excellent source of lutein and zeaxanthin (which help protect against macular degeneration), indole-3-carbinol (thought to protect against colon cancer by aiding DNA repair), iron and chlorophyll.

One serving of kale also contains 2 grams of protein, 121 milligrams (mg) of plant-based omega-3 fats, 92 mg of omega-6, and — like meat — all nine essential amino acids needed to form proteins in your body, plus nine nonessential ones for a total of 18. Studies suggest kale can help lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol while raising HDLs, lowering your risk for heart disease. Kale has also been shown to provide "comprehensive support" for detoxification by regulating the process at the genetic level.2

Kale Is Simple to Grow and Provides Ornamental Beauty

Unfortunately, conventionally-grown kale is frequently contaminated with high amounts of pesticides,3 making it important to buy organic. Better yet, grow your own!

As little as three or four plants can supply enough greens each week for a family of four, and the plants grow well in containers if you don't have a backyard. Many gardeners appreciate kale for their ornamental value as well. Growing your own will also give you better control over soil conditions.

Are Concerns About Thallium Toxicity Valid?

Like many other greens, kale tends to concentrate toxins present in the soil, and thallium toxicity has been reported even in organically-grown kale. Media warnings about "kale poisoning" erupted two years ago after private experiments by molecular biologist Ernie Hubbard suggested people were being exposed to dangerous levels of heavy metals from plants like kale.

The story broke in the magazine Craftmanship Quarterly.4 Huffington Post was one of the few news sources trying to clarify the media miscommunication that followed, noting the errors in journalism.5 Anna Almendrala wrote, in part:

"Hubbard, an unaffiliated scientist from Marin, California, who works at an alternative health clinic, has been testing local kale and soil and has arrived at the conclusion that the cruciferous vegetable's ability to 'hyperaccumulate' the heavy metal thallium is posing a health risk to his community.

Hubbard tested levels of thallium in vegetable samples and in the urine of people from Marin … who have complained of things like fatigue, brain fogginess and nausea. The symptoms are signs, he said, that they may be experiencing low-level heavy metal poisoning.

These signs, however, are correlative, which means Hubbard doesn't know for sure if crucifers have caused the symptoms or if something else may be at play. But this hasn't stopped other outlets from recommending that their readers cut back on certain vegetables …

[T]here's no reliable evidence to suggest you should kick your kale to the curb, confirmed Shreela Sharma, a registered dietitian and associate professor in the department of epidemiology, human genetics and environmental sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Hubbard acknowledged the limitations of his research to HuffPost, and wrote in an email that he never intended for his preliminary results to stand on their own, without corroboration, as a prescription for the general public."

It's important to realize that nutrient and contaminant uptake go hand in hand, and if there's a thallium problem, it's really a soil quality issue, not a kale plant issue per se. If you grow your vegetables in clean, healthy soil, you will not have heavy metals in your food, by virtue of there not being any in the soil for the plant to take up.

Kale Breeding Program Promises Greater Variety

There are many different varieties of kale, providing different colors, textures and tastes. Cornell University is also working on a program to identify and breed consumer favorites, based on shape, color, flavor and texture. As reported by Science Daily:6

"Griffiths and Swegarden are focusing efforts on developing new kale cultivars, including the evaluation of hybrid combinations. New cultivars in Griffiths' breeding pipeline will push consumer expectations for kale, blurring the current color boundaries of greens and purples and introducing a range of new leaf and plant shapes …

As part of the program, Swegarden has been gathering feedback from seed producers, growers, supermarket managers and consumers … She is partnering with Cornell's Sensory Evaluation Center to perform consumer trials to develop a consumer kale lexicon and establish a trait hierarchy that can be used to guide the breeding program.

This data will determine which hybrids and breeding lines to select in the field. Swegarden predicts that in the next few years consumers will see an even richer diversity of leafy greens available to them."

Purple kale

Popular Kale Varieties

The oldest variety of kale is curly kale, which has ruffled leaves, a deep-green color and a bitter, pungent flavor. More recent varieties are ornamental kale, Russian and dinosaur kale, the latter of which has blue-green leaves and a more delicate taste than curly kale.

Ornamental kale, sometimes called salad savoy, was originally used as a decorative garden plant (it comes in green, white and purple colors), although it can also be eaten and has a mellow flavor and tender texture. As a general rule, kale with smaller leaves tends to be more tender and milder than larger-leaved varieties. While there are many options, some of the more popular varieties of kale include:7,8,9

• Red Russian, a frost-hardy, slug-resistant variety that is sweeter than most other kinds of kale
• Dinosaur kale (aka Tuscan kale or Lacinato), another sweet-tasting variety with large, puckered blue-green leaves
• Hanover Salad, a fast grower that produces an early harvest
• Redbor, a magenta-colored, curly-edged variety with mild flavor and crisp texture
• Vates, a dwarf kale with curly, blue-green leaves that can tolerate both heat and cold

Dinosaur kale

Kale Is an Ideal Cold Temperature Crop

As a general rule, kale tastes best when grown in cooler temperatures. Warm weather (or summer crops) produces more woody and bitter-tasting greens. Optimal soil temperature is in the 60- to 65-degree F range, but you can direct-seed into your garden as long as the soil temperature is at least 45 F.

To harvest before the worst summer heat has a chance to take its toll, start seeds indoors approximately six weeks before your last frost date.10 Transplanting seedlings into your garden can speed up the maturation process from an average of 55 to 75 days to as little as 30 or 40.

For a fall crop, plant seeds about eight weeks before your first frost date. Kale is cold tolerant, and if you live in the north, you can harvest even after a light snowfall. Most can thrive in temperatures as low as 15 degrees F, giving you the option of cultivating a winter crop.

Sow seeds at a depth of about one-half inch. Keep moist but avoid overwatering as this may cause the seeds to rot. Germination typically takes about 10 days. Thin the plants once they're 3 to 4 inches tall, leaving only the healthiest-looking ones. Once the seedlings are about 9 inches tall and four leaves have developed, they're ready to be transplanted into your garden.

General Growing Tips

•In the early spring and fall, plant your kale in full sun. If you're growing it during the summer, be sure the plants have partial shade. Use straw or mulch to preserve moisture and prevent the roots from excess heat. Just beware that kale will not generally thrive in the summer, and will be far more bitter than a fall crop grown in a cooler climate. Kale tends to become more attractive to pests during the summer as well

•Kale tends to prefer slightly acidic soil that is high in nitrogen. Make sure the soil drains well, but keep moist to avoid stunting the plant's growth. Lack of moisture will also render the leaves tough and bitter

•Dress with compost every six to eight weeks. Growth can be further boosted by adding a seaweed or fish emulsion once a month

•Give each kale plant 12 to 24 inches of space to allow sufficient airflow

•Kale grows very well planted next to beets, celery, cucumbers, herbs, onions, spinach, chard and potatoes. Avoid placing it next to beans, strawberries or tomatoes

As a member of the cabbage family, kale is prone to rot diseases like black rot, club rot and wirestem, and while far more disease-resistant than many other vegetables, common pests include aphids, cabbage loopers, cabbageworms, cabbage root fly, cabbage whitefly, cutworms, flea beetles and slugs.

One of the easiest ways to protect young kale from many of these pests is to use a featherweight row cover. Once you remove the row covers, check your plants often for signs of pests and disease.

Harvesting, Storage and Cooking Suggestions

Your kale is ready for harvest once the leaves are about the size of your hand. Harvest by nipping the outer leaves off from the stem. Be sure to leave the center leaves to ensure continued growth. As a general rule, you can harvest three or more leaves from each plant every five days. Remove any yellowing or wilted leaves, as leaving them on the plant will encourage pests.

Kale has a relatively short life in terms of crispness, so it's best to use within a few days of harvesting, although the leaves can be blanched and frozen for long-term storage. Kale chips are another popular alternative that will lengthen their shelf life. Here's a simple kale chip recipe:

Curly kale

Ingredients

• 6 cups of torn and de-stemmed curly kale
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil, grass fed organic butter or ghee
• 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• Nutritional yeast to taste

Optional: 1 pinch sweet or smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder or onion powder

Instructions

1. Wash and spin dry the chopped, de-stemmed kale. It's important that the kale is completely dry before baking
2. Toss together the kale and coconut oil. Massage together with your hands until every leaf is coated
3. Sprinkle on salt, nutritional yeast and any seasoning you will be using. Toss again to evenly distribute
4. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, arrange the kale evenly without crowding or overlapping
5. Bake in a 300-degree F oven until crisp and dark green, approximately 12 to 15 minutes
6. Cool completely before eating. This will allow the chips to crisp up

Kale is versatile in that it can be used either raw or cooked, and makes for a great addition to a wide variety of dishes. Cut smaller, paler green leaves into fresh garden salad; use the larger, dark greens for stir-fries or soup. For even more serving suggestions, see my previous article, "9 Healthy Kale Recipes." You can even eat kale for breakfast. Instead of eating an egg, try this quick and easy breakfast kale stir-fry:

• Chop up half a bunch of kale, a quarter of an onion, and stir-fry in a tablespoon of coconut oil for a few minutes until the leaves are tender
• Add pinch of sea salt or Himalayan salt, a pinch of pepper, a teaspoon of lemon or Ume Plum Vinegar and some dulse flakes

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/05/26/growing-kale.aspx

Wheatgrass: Grow This Green Cancer Treatment Yourself In a Window Box

Wheatgrass juice, in all its grass-green glory, was one of the health fads that kicked off the juicing/smoothie revolution decades ago. But despite tasting a lot like its namesake (grass), the health habit has stuck around.



3 August 2016
Newsletter #627
Lee Euler, Editor 

It’s partly because so many people think wheatgrass is a magical cure-all for any type of ailment, despite a troubling lack of research. But as it turns out, this vivid green concoction could play a pivotal role in changing the course of a cancer diagnosis…

“The mother of living foods”

If you haven’t heard of her, Ann Wigmore was one of the main voices to popularize wheatgrass back in the 1960s. (Although studies on wheatgrass date back to the 1930s.)

Wigmore followed a strict health regime that consisted largely of raw foods, fruits, and nuts, and excluded all meat and dairy, along with cooked products. Wheatgrass was part of her plan, so Wigmore’s diet soon became known as “The Wheatgrass Diet.” Nowadays, you might recognize her diet as being very similar to a plant-based diet.

From a nutritional standpoint, wheatgrass is packed with the nine essential amino acids your body can’t make on its own, along with 12 other amino acids and 13 vitamins. It also contains iron, calcium, and magnesium. The combination of all these nutrients is said to give your immune system a massive boost.

If you’re a fan of the vivid green color of wheatgrass, you should know that’s another bonus. That color comes from the plant pigment chlorophyll, which works as a detoxifier within your body. Called “the blood of plant life,” it aids human blood with a cleansing process that improves the supply of oxygen to the circulatory system.

Rumor has it this stuff is better than great…

We know wheatgrass is widely used for a number of things — for body detoxification, to help with dental and hair problems, and as an antiseptic. Some people use it as a pain killer, a throat reliever, an acne and scar remover, and even as a deodorant (I don’t know what they do about the green stains).

But it’s the ability of wheatgrass to protect or possibly cure long-persisting disorders that is slowly catching the attention of the scientific community.

Notably, the many amino acids in wheatgrass are useful in rebuilding cells and muscle tissue within your body. If you’re facing cancer, and particularly if you’re undergoing a traditional chemotherapy or radiation routine, this could help with the rebuilding of healthy cells following the destruction of unhealthy cancer cells.

Sadly, and despite all its nutritional power, there haven’t been nearly enough scholarly studies on wheatgrass. Most of the claims come from anecdotal evidence and case histories. The Internet is full of them—stories like that of 74-year-old Danny McDonald who was diagnosed with stage four chronic stomach cancer and was told he had only a few weeks to live.

Mr. McDonald rejected the treatment regime laid out by his doctors and instead started drinking an ounce of wheatgrass a day, gradually upping his dose to seven ounces a day. He claimed his stomach pains disappeared after a week, and then the stomach cancer itself disappeared.

According to the respected Hippocrates Health Institute, “Two ounces of wheatgrass juice has the nutritional equivalent of five pounds of the best raw organic vegetables.” So it makes sense that those who are already nauseous from cancer treatment would prefer to drink a shot of wheatgrass instead of downing five pounds of vegetables a day, particularly if they’re going to reap the same benefit.

Barely-studied superfood impresses on a broad scale

I wish I could show you more evidence for this popular remedy. In the few studies published, largely through universities, wheatgrass as a cancer treatment and preventive aid looks promising.

For example, one pilot study from Nutrition and Cancer with 60 participants showed wheatgrass reduced the hematological [blood] toxicity related to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. Side effects were minimal.

Another study looked at how the enzymes in wheatgrass may play a pivotal role in thwarting or warding off cancer. Because wheatgrass juice is such an excellent source of chlorophyll, laetrile, and the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), it augments the oxygen supply to all body cells. That includes cancer cells, which tend to be vulnerable to high oxygen concentrations. The SOD within wheatgrass catalyzes the generation of hydrogen peroxide from superoxide radicals, which is fatal to cancer cells.

Wheatgrass contains the anticancer agent dormin, also known as the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA). That particular hormone is 40 times more potent when consumed within four hours after cutting the wheatgrass plant. This is key, because ABA can neutralize the effect of the hormone chorionic gonadotropin and a compound similar to this hormone has been found to be produced by cancer cells.

In addition, since cancer cells tend to succumb in a highly alkaline environment, it helps that the pH of wheatgrass juice is around 7.4 and contributes to alkalinity.

And finally, in a study published just last year in the Indian Journal of Pharmacology, the methanol extract of wheatgrass showed anti-leukemic potential that is likely due to the presence of high levels of flavonoids and polyphenolics.

Green blood: Best when fresh

To make wheatgrass, you start with the new grass of the wheat plant. You can’t eat it raw like spinach though, so it has to be juiced or blended or altered in some way. The benefits appear to be highest when it’s pressed into a juice and consumed fresh.

Still, wheatgrass isn’t hard to come by. You can get the juice in many health food stores, juice bars, fitness clubs, cafés, and even bars. Wheatgrass is also available as a frozen juice, in tablet form, and as a powder. It has a long shelf life, which makes these forms ideal for physical stores.

Purists, however, grow their own wheatgrass – maybe in a sunny window – and juice it in their own juicer. It grows fast, and it’s consumed when the plants are young. So I guess it doesn’t take much space to grow all you need.

If you’re using it for a health regimen, I’d recommend opting for fresh, recently-squeezed juice. And like so many whole foods with amazing anti-cancer potential, this one certainly looks like it could only help.

http://www.cancerdefeated.com/grow-this-cancer-treatment-yourself-in-a-window-box/3750/

Some call this the healthiest food in the world

The secret to evading cancer may live in the sea. The cancer-fighting solution I’m going to tell you about today – perhaps the healthiest food in the world – could save your life. Plus, it’s not an exotic, expensive supplement. It’s cheap!

17 May 2015

Newsletter #500
Lee Euler, Editor

The Oceans Create What Some Call The World’s Healthiest Food

The secret to evading cancer may live in the sea. The cancer-fighting solution I’m going to tell you about today – perhaps the healthiest food in the world – could save your life. Plus, it’s not an exotic, expensive supplement. It’s cheap!

Yet few people know about it. Here’s the story. . .

If your visits to the beach leave you thinking there’s too much seaweed in the ocean … it’s time to reconsider this plant’s awesome but hidden benefits.

Seaweed is a very broad term used to describe many varieties of marine plants and algae. Kelp (one of the largest types of seaweed and well-known among health fanatics) is actually a type of multicellular algae. Like all algae, it feeds itself by photosynthesis, like a plant.

This type of seaweed contains massive amounts of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

It contains Vitamin C, Vitamin E, iodine, other minerals, and fiber. All are powerful, cancer-fighting nutrients. I take a kelp supplement daily.

Mere kelp can help prevent and treat prostate cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, and more. It could be your “lifeboat” back to good health.

This stunning Japanese secret is lost on most Americans

The Japanese diet includes more than 21 different types of seaweed. Japanese men and women eat up to 11 grams of seaweed every day.

The seaweed-rich diet makes a significant dent in the cancer rate in Japan. And it could slash your risk, too.

Japanese men have a lower risk of getting prostate cancer (the most common type of cancer for men) than do American men. However, when Japanese men emigrate to the US and start eating a Western diet, they get prostate cancer at the same rate as American men. Of course, I can’t ascribe the entire difference to seaweed, but it probably plays a role.

The same is true for Japanese women. Mostly because seaweed contains so much iodine, Japanese women consume 25 times more iodine than American women. This extra iodine protects Japanese women from getting breast cancer.

In fact, 83 percent fewer Japanese women get breast cancer than American women. From the earliest days of this newsletter, I’ve urged readers to consume more iodine. It’s a particularly powerful tool against breast cancer.

Like the men, when Japanese women settle in the U.S. and start eating a Western diet, they get breast cancer at the same rate as American women.

Do the Japanese know a secret that’s lost on Americans? And if so, why do they stop taking advantage of it when they move to the U.S.? I guess it’s a case of “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” And like most of us, their eating habits are probably dictated more by what they like than by what’s good for them.

Seaweed protects you from cancer
in many different ways

There are thousands of seaweed species. Scientists divide them into three main categories:

1. Brown algae (such as kelp and wracks)

2. Red algae (such as dulse, weeds, and mosses)

3. Green algae (such as sea lettuce, which resembles land-grown lettuce in appearance)

Together they comprise one of the world’s great superfoods… your proverbial lifeboat.

Seaweed prevents cancer tumors from developing and helps maintain blood vessels that keep tumors from growing.

A type of brown seaweed – known as fucoxanthin – makes prostate cancer cells commit suicide.

Another type of seaweed – this one a red algae that grows near the equator in Southeast Asia – shrinks breast tumors more effectively than chemotherapy.

Researchers at the University Putra in Malaysia used rats to test the effectiveness of red seaweed compared to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy shrank breast tumors 71 percent in four weeks. The seaweed shrank breast tumors 91 percent in four weeks.

In addition to working 27 percent better than chemotherapy, red seaweed showed another amazing benefit. While chemotherapy devastated the rats’ kidneys and livers, the seaweed protected those organs.

Seaweed also softens tumors.

Destroys free radicals, ushers out toxins,
boosts immunity

According to Denmark’s National Food Institute and the Technical University of Denmark, seaweed finds and destroys free radicals in your body.

Certain types of blue-green algae work wonders for your immune system.

Blue-green algae contain a compound known as chlorophyll. Chlorophyll helps purify your blood, detoxify your body, and rejuvenate your organs. Via this cleansing and detoxing mechanism, blue-green algae help prevent cancer and reduce tumor growth.

A specific type of blue-green algae – named spirulina because it looks like a spiral – boosts your immune system and prevents breast cancer cells from growing.

Spirulina is also a useful treatment for allergies, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Chlorella – a type of green algae – is a “near-perfect food,” according to some doctors.

It binds to toxins and escorts them out of your body, enhancing your immune system. It also kills liver cancer cells.

Sea lettuce – a type of green algae (genus Ulva) — boosts your antioxidant enzymes, according to Dr. Hendrik Luesch from the University of Florida.

These enzymes increase the antioxidants in your cells. Boosted by higher levels of antioxidants, your body wards off damage and inflammation, and protects you from cancer.

Abundant trace minerals bring the gift of health

Brown algae contain all 72 trace minerals that are typically missing from our Western diet.

Besides these minerals, brown algae contain a compound called fucoidan that’s been proven to have significant cancer-fighting ability (see Issue #119).

Fucoidan prevents tumors from growing in at least three ways:

1. It triggers enzymes that kill cancer cells.

2. It changes the membrane of a cancer cell’s mitochondria (the cell’s “power house” or “engine”), causing the cancer cell to die.

3. It prevents cancer cells (especially lung cancer cells) from metastasizing.

Men who eat brown algae enjoy a reduced risk of contracting prostate cancer. Brown algae also help combat breast cancer, diabetes, obesity, chemical overloads, and more.

Boosts your iodine levels

If you’re health-literate you probably know that iodine is essential to thyroid health, but few people know it also offers powerful protection against breast cancer. Most Americans lack this essential mineral, because the practice of iodizing salt and even putting some iodine in bread dough has fallen out of favor.

The official recommended intake of iodine, at 150 micrograms, is absurdly low. A teaspoon of iodized salt is said to contain around 400 micrograms.

Kelp contains more iodine than any other known food. Even better, kelp contains a natural form of iodine that your body easily processes.

Helps neutralize carbohydrates

Eating carbohydrates increases your risk of cancer. Not to mention a host of other inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, dementia and heart disease.

Carbs contain a certain signaling molecule called IGF-1. High IGF-1 levels make cancer resistant to treatment.

When you lower your IGF-1 levels you reduce your risk of getting cancer, slow cancer growth if you’ve already got the disease, and increase your odds of surviving. Eating seaweed (i.e. the different varieties of algae) naturally reduces your IGF-1 levels.

When you eat carbs, your blood sugar increases. Seaweed helps prevents big spikes in your blood sugar levels, improving your insulin sensitivity and reducing your insulin levels.

Don’t take this as a gimmick that allows you to pig out on carbs – the best move is to eat as few carbohydrates as possible. But seaweed can help neutralize an occasional indulgence.

Don’t go overboard with seaweed

Chinese and Japanese healers have used seaweed to treat cancer for centuries. Just be careful not to eat too much.

Seaweed is almost too healthy. Ten grams (about two tablespoons) contains 34 times more potassium than the same amount of banana – and bananas are a potassium-rich food. That much potassium could cause heart palpitations if you have kidney problems.

It’s also possible to overdose on iodine.

To solve this problem, eat small amounts regularly.

Many ways to get some seaweed

Sushi rolls and seaweed salad will give you a weekly seaweed boost. Not a big fan of sushi? Buy seaweed in pill form.

I take Nature’s Way kelp myself, as well as various brands of chlorella or spirulina (depending on what mood I’m in). Just follow the directions on the bottles and you’ll be fine.

If you’d rather not take a pill, buy dried seaweed and add one-fourth teaspoon or more to:

• Smoothies

• Fresh squeezed juice

• Salad dressings (olive oil and vinegar dressings work best)

• Condiments, such as hummus, olive tapenade, or pesto

• Soups and stews (note to moms… your children won’t even notice, especially if you also include a fair amount of garlic!)

Just start small and add more over time!

By including more seaweed in your diet, you can lower your risk of getting cancer.

http://www.cancerdefeated.com/the-oceans-create-what-some-call-the-worlds-healthiest-food-2/3206

This post is on Healthwise

Go to Healthwise for more articles

This 9th Century Superfood is a Cancer-Killer

Healthwise

February 16, 2014 

You’ve probably heard of spirulina.

People have been eating it since the 9th century. But what we didn’t know was how powerful it is against cancer.

This alga can stop the growth of human leukemia cells by 50 percent in just 48 hours.1

How? By increasing the amount of natural killer (NK) cells in your body. They’re the immune cells that track down and destroy cancer cells. So it boosts the natural cancer defenses your body already has in place.2

This food is high in chlorophyll, which cleanses and oxygenates your blood.3 That gives your immune system the support it needs by stopping the formation of cancer cell colonies.4 The result is that it destroys cancer cells as they’re forming and stops them from taking hold if they do.

Spirulina is also brimming with essential fatty acids, vitamin B12, and a protein called C-phycocyanin. That gives it its deep blue-green color.  But more important, that’s why it has such powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.5

Adding spirulina to your diet is easy. You can find it in supplement form in health food stores and online. Unlike chlorella, you don’t have to worry about finding a digestible form with broken cell walls.

If you’re worried about cancer, add these algae to your diet. It’s a superfood all on its own. Including it in a diet rich in healthful fats and leafy green vegetables will give your immune system the support it needs to keep cancer away. But spirulina isn’t the only answer to staying free of cancer.

Unfortunately, you don’t hear about a lot of them in the mainstream news or at your doctor’s office. Especially when it comes to ways to safely treat cancer after you have it. But during our research, we came across several success stories of one natural treatment.

For example, Carol R., a retired schoolteacher. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. Mainstream treatments scared her. So she went to a specialized health facility in Wichita, Kansas for this therapy.

Now she says, “Not only is the cancer gone from the inside, everything has improved…head to toe…skin, nails, hair, teeth, eyes…everything. I feel stronger than I did 20 years ago—which is amazing because I thought I was healthy then!”

References:
1 http://science.naturalnews.com/2004/5391886_Molecular_mechanisms _in_C_Phycocyanin_induced_apoptosis_in_human_chronic.html
2 http://science.naturalnews.com/2009/843942_Enhancement_of_anti tumor_natural_killer_cell_activation_by_orally_administered.html
3 http://sacredsourcenutrition.com/the-many-health-benefits-of-chlorophyll/
4 http://www.naturalnews.com/008421_spirulina_cancer.html
5 http://www.cyanotech.com/pdfs/spirulina/sptl28.pdf

http://institutefornaturalhealing.com/2014/02/this-9th-century-superfood-is-a-cancer-killer/

Healthwise

The 7 Best Energy Boosters

October 1, 2013

Are you tired all the time? You have plenty of company. About 10 million doctor visits each year are attributed to fatigue. And all of those bottomless cups of strong coffee won’t help. Too much caffeine actually saps energy and makes fatigue worse.

The only way to beat fatigue is to create the conditions that bring more energy into your days and remove the obstacles that drain it away.

Most people know that exercise is energizing. It increases blood flow and circulates oxygen to the brain and other tissues. It also increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that improves alertness and focus, along with physical energy.

Other energy-boosters that really work...

1. Green drinks. We are always being told to eat more greens, but ­drinking them can be a much better choice when your energy flags during the day.

What to do: Take advantage of the liquid greens in health-food stores. Juices made from wheatgrass, barley and other vegetable extracts are alkalizing. They increase pH and shift the body’s balance to a less acid state. Too much acidity—a consequence of all the meat and grains in the American diet—­impairs energy as well as health.

The grasses used in green drinks contain chlorophyll and related substances that remove energy-­depleting toxins from the body. The drinks typically have little or no added sugar, so they won’t cause the spike and drop in blood sugar that you get from sweetened soft drinks or fruit juices.

Green drinks are not delicious. They have a slightly grassy taste that takes some getting used to. My favorite is Barlean’s Greens, which is readily available online and in health-food stores and tastes surprisingly good.

2. Whole eggs. You need plenty of protein to satisfy your appetite, keep your energy humming and prevent the postmeal slump that occurs when you eat too much.

For years, people thought that egg-white omelets were the perfect high-protein meal. Not true. Whole eggs are better because the yolks are high in choline, a B vitamin that reduces inflammation—and the fatigue that accompanies it.

Don’t worry about the saturated fat in egg yolks. It’s not the enemy that people once thought. When researchers from Harvard and other institutions analyzed 21 previous studies that looked at the relationship between saturated fat and heart disease, they found that ­saturated fat did not cause an increase in heart disease or stroke.

What to do: Include a source of protein with every meal. It could be eggs, nuts, fish, grass-fed meat, beans or tofu.

3. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). This is probably the most important ­energy-producing nutrient that most people don’t get enough of.

CoQ10 increases the activity of mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells. The body naturally produces CoQ10, but it’s a complicated process that involves at least seven vitamins. Since many people don’t get enough of these nutrients—including vitamin C and a variety of B vitamins—levels of CoQ10 tend to be too low to boost energy.

What to do: Supplement with 100 milligrams (mg) of CoQ10 daily if you’re generally healthy. If you have been ­diagnosed with a heart condition or are taking a cholesterol-lowering statin, increase the daily dose to 200 mg. Statins deplete CoQ10 from the body. It’s particularly important for heart patients to get enough because the heart requires CoQ10 to beat efficiently.

4. High-glycemic foods occasionally. You probably have heard that the best carbohydrates for long-term energy have a low-glycemic load. Fiber-filled foods such as lentils, peanuts, carrots and chickpeas are absorbed slowly into the intestine. They keep blood sugar and insulin at steady levels—not too low or too high.

There’s one possible exception. If you’re trying to lose weight and still keep your energy high, you might want to have occasional servings of high-glycemic foods. There’s some evidence that people who mainly eat low-glycemic carbs but allow themselves a high-glycemic meal every four to seven days help the body to overcome its tendency to burn fewer calories during a weight-loss diet.

My advice: Suppose that you eat mainly low-glycemic carbs but still want to lose a few pounds. Once or twice a week, have one meal that includes ­faster-burning carbohydrates, such as pasta, white potatoes or white rice. Scientists speculate that the jump in insulin overcomes the slowing of your metabolism that comes along with ­dieting.

5. Replenish your bacteria. You might not think that digestion has much to do with energy, but the action inside your intestines greatly affects how you feel.

A study published in Journal of Psychiatric Research found that probiotics (live, beneficial bacteria) may have antidepressant effects. The same organisms improve immunity and make it easier to fight off the fatiguing effects of viruses and bacteria.

My advice: Eat one or more daily servings of live-culture yogurt. Look for the letters LAC (Live and Active Cultures) on the label. It means that the yogurt contains at least 100 million live organisms per gram.

6. Lights out. Nothing saps your energy more than a poor night’s sleep. And what people don’t realize is that even very dim lights—such as the small LED indicators on computers, cell phones and bedside clocks—can make it difficult to get a decent night’s rest. Sleep scientists have found that even trace amounts of ambient light inhibit the production of melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone.

My advice: Minimize the amount of light. Turn your digital clock so that it faces away from the bed, for example, or drape something over the computer to cover up the “on” light.

If you don’t get enough sleep, take a nap. Napping improves memory, lowers stress and improves all-day ­energy. Studies done by NASA have found that a short 26-minute nap can increase performance by 34% and alertness by 54%. Limit your naps to 26 minutes or less, preferably late in the morning or early in the afternoon.

7. Breathe deeply and well. You would think that nothing is more natural than breathing, but many people don’t breathe the way that nature ­intended.

Reason: We live in a very fast-paced world…and we spend a lot of time hunched over desks, staring at computer screens. Both stress and poor posture tighten muscles in the upper body and make it harder for the lungs to expand. We have become shallow breathers, which decreases oxygen and causes mental and physical fatigue.

My advice: Every few hours, take a breathing break. While sitting or ­lying down, place one hand on your abdomen and one hand on your chest. Slowly breathe in through your nose, then exhale just as deeply through your mouth. Make sure that the hand on your belly rises and falls while the hand on your chest barely moves.

During the day, if you notice that you’re breathing shallowly or more quickly than usual, remind yourself to relax and breathe in more fully.

Source: Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, a nutritionist and weight-loss expert based in Los Angeles. He is board-certified by the American College of Nutrition and is a member of the American Society of Nutrition. He is author of The Most Effective Ways on Earth to Boost Your Energy and coauthor with Stephen Sinatra, MD, of The Great Cholesterol Myth (both by Fair Winds). JonnyBowden.com

http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/diet-a-exercise/the-7-best-energy-boosters#at_pco=tcb-1.0&at_tot=5&at_ab=-&at_pos=3

Better Than Wheatgrass: Raw Veggie Juice and Sprouts

May 20, 2013

Story at-a-glance

• Wheatgrass contains high amounts of chlorophyll, and is thought to have a wide variety of health promoting properties but its benefits are related to the quality of how it is grown. Wheat grass should not be used long term as it is not a food but a highly detoxifying medicinal herb
• Purported health benefits of wheatgrass include Increasing red blood-cell count; cleansing your blood, organs and gastrointestinal tract; stimulating metabolism and thyroid function; reducing damaging effects of radiation, and more
• It is important to be cautious when using wheatgrass and to start slowly to avoid becoming nauseous and stimulating a healing crisis
• Sunflower seed and pea sprouts are other sprouts that are actually foods, which are highly nutritious and can be consumed on a regular basis. They can have up to 30X the nutrition of even locally grown organic vegetables

By Dr. Mercola

If you want to improve your nutrition and are itching to grow your own food, sprouts are an ideal choice.  

Virtually all sprouted seeds and grains fall in the “superfood” category, and they’re really easy to grow, even if you don’t have a lot of space or an outdoor garden. But what about green grasses like wheatgrass? 

Wheatgrass is grown from wheat seeds, and contains high amounts of chlorophyll. Most people juice it, but wheat grass is also available in supplement form. 

My main objection to wheatgrass is I believe vegetable sprouts like sunflower, broccoli, and pea sprouts are far more beneficial as a food if you want to improve your nutrition.    

If you're going to grow sprouts, I wouldn't put wheatgrass at the top of the list.
As reported in the featured article by the Chicago Tribune:¹

“Its health benefits and curative powers were promoted in the 1940s by Ann Wigmore, a Lithuanian immigrant to Boston and holistic health practitioner.

Wigmore believed humans could benefit by following the practice of dogs and cats by eating grass and regurgitating to feel better.

She developed the wheatgrass diet, a program which, in addition to consuming wheat grass juice, avoids all meats, dairy products and cooked foods, and focuses on 'live' foods such as sprouts, raw produce, nuts and seeds.

The diet and its many touted health and curative claims -- detoxification of the body, controlling diabetes, prevention of bacterial infections, the common cold and fever; and protection against ailments like skin problems, gout and even cancer -- took off and continues to be alive and well today.”

Potential Benefits of Wheatgrass

As you can see, Wigmore’s inspiration for eating wheatgrass is not really based on its nutritional content but rather the idea that humans might benefit in the same manner as some animals which, upon eating grass, vomit and thereby feel better.  

Many alternative health practitioners believe in wheatgrass as being highly beneficial. The Hippocrates Health Institute,² for example, has a long list of purported benefits of wheatgrass, including the following (for the full list, please see the HHI web site):

• Increases red blood-cell count; cleanses the blood, organs and gastrointestinal tract; simulates metabolism
• Stimulates your thyroid gland
• Reduces over-acidity in your blood and relieve peptic ulcers, ulcerative colitis, constipation, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal complaints
• Detoxifies your liver and blood and chemically neutralizes environmental pollutants
• Its high chlorophyll content may help oxygenate your blood. Keeping a tray of live wheatgrass near your bed may also enhance the oxygen in the air and generate healthful negative ions to help improve your sleep
• May help reduce damaging effects of radiation, courtesy of the enzyme SOD—an anti-inflammatory compound

They also claim there are a number of health benefits you can reap simply from topical exposure, such as rubbing some juice onto your skin or adding wheatgrass to your bath.

“[Wheatgrass] can double your red blood cell count just by soaking in it. Renowned nutritionist Dr. Bernard Jensen found that no other blood builders are superior to green juices and wheatgrass. In his book 'Health Magic Through Chlorophyll'

He mentions several cases where he was able to double the red blood cell count in a matter of days merely by having patients soak in a chlorophyll-water bath. Blood building results occur even more rapidly when patients drink green juices and wheatgrass regularly.”

Others, like Mother Nature Network,³ point out that there are no medical studies to support Dr. Jensen’s findings. According to Dr. Chris Reynolds,⁴ who goes by the moniker “Dr. Wheatgrass,” the benefits of wheatgrass are primarily biological, not nutritional.

“Reynolds argues that there is plenty of evidence to support wheatgrass extract’s role in supporting biological functions, including one preliminary study in the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research,⁵ which suggests that fermented wheatgrass extract 'exerts significant antitumor activity.'

The study concludes that the extract requires further evaluation as a candidate for clinical combination drug regimens,” Mother Nature Network writes.

Important Details to Know BEFORE You Use Wheat Grass

Wheatgrass contains large amounts of chlorophyll, and is thought to have a wide variety of health promoting properties; however these benefits are largely related to the quality of how it is grown.  Like any food or supplement, quality is highly variable and if you chose to use it, this is important to pay attention to. It is far less expensive to grow your own, but more importantly you can typically grow a much higher quality grass.  

Harvest time is crucial and that is typically around one week after you germinate the seeds at what is called the “jointing stage.”  Some stores that sell wheat grass will harvest it once and then let it grow again for a second harvest  Some also sell frozen wheat grass but this is far less effective than freshly harvested wheat grass. 

Most wheat grass tastes very bitter  Many believe that they need to grow it in direct sunlight but this actually contributes to the bitterness. Expose the grass only to indirect sunlight, and harvest it right at the jointing stage when it is at its sweetest. One of the complications of growing wheat grass is that it is very easy to be contaminated with mold due to it's tightly bound roots in moist soil. If this occurs, the mold can make you sick. Mold typically grows at the bottom of the wheat grass near the soil. Keeping a gentle breeze blowing, keeping the humidity low, and reducing the quantity of seed so the growth is less dense are three approaches to help limit this. 

If you decide to use wheat grass you need to be very careful though, as excessive amounts of wheat grass can cause you to become very nauseous and catalyze a healing crisis that could make you very sick.  It is also not a food but a detoxifying herb and should not be consumed every day for long periods of time. 

It is not uncommon for people who drink wheatgrass juice daily for several months or years to develop an aversion to the taste, or even become nauseated by it. Since it is such a highly detoxifying medicinal herb that can cause cleanse or “Herxheimer” reactions,  it’s a good idea to use wheatgrass juice judiciously. When first starting wheatgrass you should only use one ounce once or twice a day, gradually working up to two ounces.

The Benefits of Raw Juice

While I’m not convinced that wheatgrass is an ideal choice as a food, there’s no doubt that sprouts and green juice play a significant role in optimal nutrition. At the end of this article, I’ll review growing your own sprouts, but first, let’s look at juicing.  

Virtually every health authority recommends that we get 6-8 servings of vegetables and fruits per day and very few of us actually get that. Juicing is an easy way to virtually guarantee that you will reach your daily target for vegetables. There are three main reasons why you will want to consider incorporating vegetable juicing into your optimal health program:

1. Juicing helps you absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because most of us have impaired digestion as a result of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body's ability to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. Juicing will help to "pre-digest" them for you, so you will receive most of the nutrition, rather than having it go down the toilet.
2. Juicing allows you to consume a healthier amount of vegetables in an efficient manner. If you are a carb type, you should eat one pound of raw vegetables per 50 pounds of body weight per day. Some people may find eating that many vegetables difficult, but it can be easily accomplished with a quick glass of vegetable juice.
3. You can add a wider variety of vegetables in your diet. Many people eat the same vegetable salads every day. This violates the principle of regular food rotation and increases your chance of developing an allergy to a certain food. But with juicing, you can juice a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally enjoy eating whole.

Drinking your juice first thing in the morning can give you a natural energy boost without resorting to stimulants like coffee. Since the juice is already in an easily digestible form, it can help revitalize your energy levels within as little as 20 minutes. For more information about juicing, including detailed recommendations for the types of vegetables to use; different types of juicers, and other helpful tips, please see my three-part interview with Cherie Calbom, better known as The Juice Lady (Part 1, part 2, and part 3). Below, I give a quick overview of juicing, and how to find a juicer that doesn’t cost a fortune.  

Sprouts—A DIY Superfood

Wheatgrass is not to be viewed as a food; it is a potent healing agent if used carefully and cautiously. There are other sprouts that fill the role of food very well.  Sprouts are important to optimize your health, as they are an oft-ignored powerhouse of nutrition. They can contain up to 30 times the nutrition of organic vegetables grown in your own garden, and allow your body to extract more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fats from the foods you eat.
During sprouting, minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, bind to protein, making them more bioavailable. Furthermore, both the quality of the protein and the fiber content of beans, nuts, seeds and grains improves when sprouted. The content of vitamins and essential fatty acids also increase dramatically during the sprouting process. While you can sprout a variety of different beans, nuts, seeds and grains, sprouts in general have the following beneficial attributes:

• Support for cell regeneration
• Powerful sources of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and enzymes that protect against free radical damage
• Alkalinizing effect on your body, which is thought to protect against disease, including cancer (as many tumors are acidic)
• Abundantly rich in oxygen, which can also help protect against abnormal cell growth, viruses and bacteria that cannot survive in an oxygen-rich environment

My two favorites are pea and sunflower sprouts. They provide some of the highest quality protein you can eat. Sprouted sunflower seeds also contain plenty of iron and chlorophyll, the latter of which will help detoxify your blood and liver. Of the seeds, sunflower seeds are among the best in terms of overall nutritional value, and sprouting them will augment their nutrient content by as much as 300 to 1,200 percent! Similarly, sprouting peas will improve the bioavailability of zinc and magnesium.

Planting and Harvesting Sprouts at Home        

I used to grow sprouts in Ball jars over 10 years ago but stopped doing that. I am strongly convinced that actually growing them in soil is far easier and produces far more nutritious and abundant food. It is also less time consuming. With Ball jars you need to rinse them several times a day to prevent mold growth. Trays also take up less space. I am now consuming one whole tray you see below every 2-3 days and to produce that much food with Ball jars I would need dozens of jars.  



About to plant wheat grass and sunflower seeds - 2 days after soaking 

Wheat grass and sunflower seeds – 3 ½ days post germination

I am in the process of compiling more specific detailed videos for future articles but I thought I would whet your appetite and give you a preview with the photos below. For now you can get instructions on how to grow them by viewing a step-by-step guide at rawfoods-

livingfoods.com.⁶ One of the important details that many fail to do is to cover the sprouting tray with a cover that not only puts the sprouts in darkness but has a heavy weight on it. The weight is necessary to produce a high quality sprout. It needs the exercise to simulate breaking through the soil.

Sunflower seeds and pea sprouts – 3 days until ready for harvest	Sunflower seed sprouts and wheat Grass - ready to harvest

Sprouts are a perfect complement to fermented vegetables. My current salad consists of about half a pound of sunflower sprouts, four ounces of fermented vegetables, half a large red pepper, several tablespoon of raw organic butter, some red onion, a whole avocado and about three ounces of salmon or chicken. It is my primary meal. In the late afternoon, I typically only have macadamia nuts and home made coconut candy in addition to drinking 16-32 ounces of green vegetable juice. I break it up occasionally by going to a restaurant with friends.

[-] Sources and References

• ¹ Chicago Tribune January 2, 2013
• ² Hippocrates Health Institute, Benefits of Wheatgrass
• ³ Mother Nature Network June 27, 2012
• ⁴ Mother Nature Network June 27, 2012
• ⁵ Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research 2011
• ⁶ How to grow Sunflower Sprouts from whole Sunflower Seeds

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/20/wheatgrass.aspx