MJ’s Herbals sent us their line of Herbal Salves to try. We love them! All of the ingredients are natural (most organic) and they work very well. Their line includes:
MJ’s Herbals should be in everyone’s medicine cabinet. www.mjsherbals.com
ASK Raw Chef Dan
In 1997 Raw Chef Dan stepped up to the challenge of bringing raw foods to the masses. He knew that to win people over, raw food had to be better than palatable; it had to be mind blowing and the dining experience had to be exquisite. Late in 1999, Quintessence’s doors opened to a waiting audience… and the rest is history!
If I understand correctly, soy sauce is not raw, and for other reasons, not healthy. Do you have a replacement for the taste of soy sauce for raw foods dishes?
~ James
RAW CHEF DAN ANSWERS: Nama Shoyu Soy Sauce by Ohsawa is Raw. Nama is the Japanese word for raw and shoyu is the Japanese word meaning soy product. Therefore, Nama Shoyu literally translates to “raw soy product.” Live active probiotic cultures ferment the soy, breaking down the phytoestrogens and complex proteins. There is no pasteurization so the active cultures are still live. Nama Shoyu by Ohsawa is an age-old product produced by hand from 100% GMO-free organic soy beans. It is made as it’s been made for centuries in a mountain monastery by Buddhist monks. It is a high quality, very spiritual product.
Soy Sauce was originally the byproduct of miso. Tamari comes from a Japanese word, tamaru, which means to accumulate or to collect, which is what exactly this was: the liquid collected or accumulated on top of the miso kegs during the preparation of miso. It was poured off and saved as a garnish to food at the dinner table. As its popularity grew, so did the demand and methods to produce the sauce.
If you cannot have wheat, the alternative would be a wheat-free Tamari; though I have yet to find one that is raw, both Soy and Tamari by Ohsawa are organic and GMO free. There are also Braggs Liquid Aminos and Dr. Bronner’s Mineral Bullion, but then again, neither is raw or 100% organic. If you really can’t do with any of those, I have used the brine from good quality olives or capers or you can just use good old sea salt, Himalayan crystal salt, celery salt, or many others.
Good luck,
Raw Chef Dan
Nonstick Cookware
I love omelets! I’ve read that nonstick Teflon pans are not good for you, and I am considering throwing mine out. What is the best alternative for a good non-stick pan? I’d prefer something light, so I can do the flip.
~ Mike
RAW CHEF DAN ANSWERS: Well now. You know what I’m going to say, but I’m going to say it anyway. STOP EATING EGGS!
There I said it. Do you know where they come from? Do you know what’s in them? I won’t attach the picture that goes with it, sparing you that image. You can go to the Peta website for that, or go to http://www.goveg.com/whatsWrong.asp. Though nutritionally speaking, if taken in moderation (2 or 3 times a month), eggs do provide some rather beneficial elements—omegas and some good (HDL) cholesterol—but only if you eat them raw. Once cooked, they become acid forming in the body. The fats and cholesterol have deformed under the heat, changing the good fats and HDLs to rancid fats and LDLs.
Unless you buy organic eggs, the greater problem is the added hormones, steroids, and antibiotics. That’s not even mentioning how the animals are treated and the fact that the eggs are formed inside a stressed, diseased creature.
As for the pans, most nonstick pans are no longer actually Teflon since the discovery of its contribution to Alzheimer’s. The newer versions, still coined Teflon, emit high levels of toxic gasses when heated. See these links for the long awful truth:
Copper pans have good reports. They’re a little costly, but worth it in the long run. A less costly choice is a copper core stainless steel. If I were to cook again, then copper would be my choice. The best price that I know of is at Amazon.com. Search the All-Clad Cop-R-Chef 8” Frying Pan. Tell them RawChefDan-20 sent you!
Enjoy,
Raw Chef Dan
Going Raw
I’m looking to go all “raw.” I’m wondering if you cook anything, and if so, what are the rules? Is there a certain temperature I cannot go above? Do you ever use your stove?
Thanks!
RAW CHEF DAN ANSWERS: First let me commend you on your goal. It is quite an undertaking and takes commitment, though not as much of one as some might think. I know plenty of people who went raw overnight. The real trick is education. The more you know, the fewer cooked foods you’ll want to eat. The more you know, the better decisions you’ll make in the future. Knowledge is power.
Start by finding all the things you can eat, instead of focusing on all the things you can’t.
Look for new places to shop. It’s an adventure, a discovery to find the amazing varieties of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Go online and order some of the unknown: Gojie berries, Cacoa, Maca, Chia seeds, Mesquit, Toco Triennials. I will provide you with some links later. Also, get involved in classes, potlucks, and online raw food groups. Watch videos and DVDs and get yourself a book or two like Raw in Ten Minutes and Living in the Raw. There really are no rules for such a change other than to go at your own pace. Don’t stress over it, but try not to rubberband (to go all raw for a month then binge). Smooth and easy is the best. Remember: the more raw food you eat in a day, the less room there is for other stuff. If you do eat cooked food, eat it early in the day so you have the rest of the day to digest it.
I have a 1 yr old who refuses to eat meat and eggs and veggies. She is iron deficient and is on a supplement. Is there anything besides beans and rice or dairy to get her protein and iron?
~ A Worried Mom
RAW CHEF DAN ANSWERS: First of all, this is a very dangerous situation. A child in her growing stages should not be living on rice, beans, and dairy. That’s enough to kill an adult, let alone a child. The starch intake is harmful by itself and dairy is full of hormones, steroids, and fats. Then there are the added antibiotics, formaldehyde, and a plethora of other disgusting things depending on the product. Now this is not necessarily a “chef” question and I am not really qualified to tackle such an issue, but what I can tell you is you will have to experiment.
Children are fussy and it’s hard to get them to eat what is best for them, but the search must begin ASAP. I would start with blended soups, using a variety of veggies. They are tasty and the variety of flavors is endless. I don’t know what your child’s tastes are, so you will just have to try many things. Soups are loaded with vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, amino acids, and are high alkaline
while being easy to digest. By adding things like Tahini or hemp seeds, you can boost the protein levels tremendously.
For more solid foods, try some of the raw food “granola bar” type snacks. The nuts and seeds are full of protein and many of these snacks have boost nutrients like Spirulina or Cacoa. Salads with the right dressing may do the trick (it’s all in the dressing). Watch for additives. You may want to make your own. And make smoothies, again adding hemp seeds, Spirulina, etc. The thing is to get a wide variety of veggies in and to stay away from dense proteins like meats, dairy, and even too many nuts. Starch should be avoided as much as possible. It’s tough to get kids to eat what you want them to, but when they’re hungry they’ll eat. To close, I will give you two last pieces of advice. Go to all the “Raw Food” websites and look over the free recipes. Read what’s on the sites and buy some of the books. Join myspace.com. The raw food group’s bulletin boards are full of people willing to help you with questions. Ask others like Dr. Gabriel Cousins www.treeoflife.nu; David Jubb, 508 East 12th Street, New York, New York, 212-353-5000; or Jeremy Saffron www.lovingfoods.com. They all can help you out a lot.
Short Sighted – Diminishing Returns – Letter From the Editor
Studies showing that GMOs work and work well are accurate, to a point. Initially, yields are higher and farmers don’t need to spray as many herbicides or pesticides. In the long run, we read reports from all over the world claiming yields decline, super weeds are growing, and soil degradation is rampant.
Our society is one of short sighted vision. Our consumption model, which drives our people and our government, is also short sighted, resulting in increased debt and reliance on non-sustainable resources. It can’t last.
Pharmaceutical medications work the same way. You treat the symptoms (short term) not the cause (long term).
Companies are set up to make as much money as they can, as quickly as possible. When a company can no longer sustain its practices, it finds new ways, often corrupt ways, to maintain its profits. These methods often result in harming people and our environment in the long run.
Consider the fact that if Americans saved, spent money on what they needed, and refused to go into debt to buy “extras,” our economy would completely collapse.
Our society is comprised of pleasure seeking, quick fixing, short term results oriented, greedy consumers. That’s how we work. It can’t last forever.
Michael Edwards
Editor in Chief
Ask OLM
Loose Skin
Dr. Tim O’Shea,
I lost a lot of weight. I have loose skin. It was recommended that I take a systemic enzyme. I am also considering taking the collagen supplement you recommend. I have been told that systemic enzymes somehow eat foreign protein. Is this true and will they cancel each other out?
~ Sean
DR. TIM O’SHEA: For some collagen products that’s true, but the one that I sell at thedoctorwithin.com (Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein Hydrate) one is completely bioavailable. You must do it for two months every day to see the good effect. For more information check out thedoctorwithin.com/collagen.
Something in Common with Francis
Dear Raymond Francis,
I’ve read your book, Never Be Sick Again, and was astonished by how similar our stories are. I too had my immune system collapse, and suffered from many environmental sensitivities (though not as severe as yours). Through diet and naturopathic medicine I have recovered much of my health. One thing I discovered was a severe sensitivity to gluten. Do you believe that I can reverse my inability to digest gluten when I completely restore my health?
~ Carol
RAYMOND FRANCIS ANSWERS: It is impossible to predict if gluten sensitivity can be reversed in a particular person. Whether this can happen depends on too many individual factors, including genetic makeup. That being said, I have observed numerous people overcome gluten sensitivity by rebuilding their immunity, and very importantly, rebuilding the integrity of their gut tissue. Damaged gut tissue and leaky gut are a sure-fire prescription for food allergies. Repairing gut tissue with diet, stress reduction, and supplements will often make food allergies and gluten sensitivity go away. At the very least, as you improve your health, your sensitivity will be reduced, and it will take exposure to higher amounts of the allergen to get a reaction.
Receding Gums
I have a problem with receding gums. My dentist says I need to have surgery. Is there a way I can fix this with naturopathic medicine?
~ Sara
DR. SHILLINGTON ANSWERS: Absolutely! My “Tooth & Gum” Formula works wonders in this area. Below is a success story for you to read. The stuff IS AMAZING!!!
All the best,
Doc (Ian Shillington)
Success Story: When I moved to Clearwater in October 1997, I had advanced periodontal disease. Very deep pockets existed in all of my teeth and I had been told by 3 dentists that I would lose all of my upper teeth and at least 4 of my lower teeth. In December, my friend Valorie gave me the Tooth & Gum formula to use on my gums. At the time I had a very deep and painful abscess in my upper gums extending into my sinus cavity. I swished one dropperful of Tooth and Gum formula around in my mouth and within 20 minutes the pain (that large doses of pain medication would not handle) was gone! I used the formula in this manner for the next couple of days along with Echinacea and the abscess was gone within 3 days. Daily over the next couple of months, I diluted the tooth and gum formula and used the water-pick. This was all in an effort to save some of the lower teeth. I still expected to lose all of the upper teeth and at least 4 of the lower ones.
When I went to the dentist in April 1998 to have a final evaluation and get the necessary teeth extracted, we discovered that all the pockets in the lower teeth had shrunk from 7, 8 and 9 mm back to the depth of about 3½ mm and I was able to keep all of my bottom teeth. Additionally I was able to keep 4 teeth on the top, save myself $1500, and now eat the raw veggies which I love. I was astounded!! So was my dentist. In a nutshell this tooth and gum product tightened my gums, restored the bone loss and returned the above mentioned teeth and surrounding gums to a healthy state. All the best,
Mary O – WA
Fingernails
A few years ago I noticed ridges in my fingernails from root to tip. Then my thumbnails thickened. They break in chunks. What causes this, and what can I do to reverse it?
~ Janie
RYAN HARRISON, MA: Many women spend a good deal of time and money on their nails. Unfortunately, cosmetic care isn’t necessarily the best way to keep your nails healthy. In fact, nail polish itself can actually remove the natural fat found in nails, leading to brittleness.
Keratin is the component responsible for a nail’s firmness and if a person is experiencing nail brittleness or splitting, a deficiency of keratin is typically the underlying cause. This deficiency can be caused by malnutrition, malabsorption, or a metabolic defect such as low stomach acid. Your body will synthesize keratin, but you need to be sure you’re giving it the nutrients it needs to do so. These include calcium, molybdenum, sulfur, and zinc. Increase your intake of whole grains, organic dairy products, legumes, and toxin-free fish to ensure you’re getting these nutrients. Get an extra nail-healthy boost of the vitamin biotin from brewer’s yeast, saltwater fish and soybeans, as well.
Another way to increase your nail-enhancing mineral intake is to make and drink a tea made from nettle leaves, horsetail herb, chamomile, and yarrow flowers. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tbsp of a mixture of these herbs. Let it steep for 15 minutes and then drink 1 cup up to 3 times, daily. Finally, be sure that you are caring for your nails in an appropriate manner. Filing your nails is gentler than clipping, but don’t exert too much pressure when filing. And never push back your cuticles with a hard or sharp object, which may cause the nail to develop grooves or break off faster. Instead, oil or soak your cuticles and push them back gently with your fingertips.
Sensitive Teeth
I have very sensitive teeth. I can’t eat cold foods at all. What’s wrong with my teeth and what can I do? I take calcium supplements, and I do eat veggies and drink milk. Can I still be low on calcium?
~ Patricia
RYAN HARRISON, MA: Sensitive teeth can have several causes. Most commonly, as a person’s gum line recedes, the roots of teeth can end up exposed. These roots can be very sensitive to hot and/or cold or to pressure. Another cause is the exposure of a tooth’s root when the tooth’s enamel is broken, cracked, or chipped. Finally, as with many other health issues, there can also be an emotional or psychological component; the pain manifests in the teeth, but really starts somewhere else.
For teeth that are sensitive due to receding gums or pores in the tooth itself, most dentists prescribe a toothpaste that contains potassium nitrate, which fills pores and helps numb the pain. Unfortunately, like many other components of standard dental care, potassium nitrate is a toxic chemical. Its MSDS registration lists it as “harmful if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin” and states that it “causes irritation to skin, eyes and [the] respiratory tract.” Is this really something you want to put in your mouth, where chemicals are quickly and easily absorbed through oral membranes?
More natural approaches to calming sensitive teeth include herbal, nutritional, and energetic recommendations. As far as herbs go, you might find a blend of nervine (nerve-calming) herbs to be very helpful. Capsules containing equal parts of herbs such as lavender, hops, valerian, chamomile, and skullcap, when taken regularly, can help decrease pain and soothe irritated nerves. Be careful, however, in your dosage and usage of these herbs. They can also have sedative effects. Check with a knowledgeable herbalist before starting any herbal regimen.
There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that tooth enamel can be “rebuilt” – a process referred to as “remineralization” – if the proper steps are followed. In large part, this requires adherence to some dietary instructions that reduce the acidity of saliva while also introducing foods and/or supplements high in calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D.
Additionally, some essential oils such as myrrh, clove, and goldenseal may be used to help cleanse the mouth and safely reduce pain. Speak with a qualified naturopath to determine what would work best for you.
Finally, I would suggest that your first step be approaching the issue from a psychological angle. While it may seem strange, it’s well proven that a person’s state of mind can affect her physical wellbeing. And though we are making great strides in understanding the mind’s relationship with the body, it’s still pretty hard to tell when a physical ailment is (or isn’t) caused by some kind of mental/emotional stressor. There’s a very powerful, efficient, and surprisingly simple energetic technique that helps alleviate a host of physical conditions by removing mental/emotional charges called EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). It has an impressive track record for calming the body and mind and reversing even deep-seated complaints, sometimes within minutes. A professional EFT practitioner will be able to help you explore this possibility.
Email your questions to questions [at] organicmail.net. Questions may be edited for clarity or length.
Sprouting to Remove Enzyme Inhibitors
If you were to leave a kernel of spelt, hard red winter wheat, rye, barley, or any other grain on your dining room table for the next five years, it wouldn’t rot or decompose. Grains were found in the pyramids. Not only were they intact after two thousand years, but when water was added, some of the kernels grew. There is a reason why grains don’t easily decompose. Grains, seeds, tree nuts, and most beans, contain a live, biochemical agent called an enzyme inhibitor. Enzyme inhibitors stop enzyme activity until the right conditions exist for germination. This is nature’s way of preserving the life force in a seed so it can reproduce.
Foods with enzyme inhibitors are very difficult to digest, and they slow down the naturally occurring enzyme activity in your body. Every time you eat regular pasta, bread, cake, cereal, and all other grain products, or nuts, seeds and beans, you are slowing down the communication processes throughout your entire body and suppressing your body’s ability to function at peak performance. Ingesting enzyme inhibitors causes obesity, lethargy, gas, bloating, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal difficulties, an enlarged pancreas, diabetes, destruction of the body’s own natural production of enzymes, and an overall general condition of poor health.
Enzyme inhibitors make meat protein more difficult to utilize, while causing animal fats to concentrate, and cholesterol and triglyceride levels to rise.
So does this mean we should eliminate all of these foods because they’re bad for us? Absolutely not! All we have to do is to prepare them correctly to release the enzyme inhibitors. Once the enzyme inhibitors are gone, grains, seeds, tree nuts, and beans are some of the most perfect foods. They are very high in assimilable amino acids (proteins) and extremely rich in the exact kinds of enzymes
our bodies need to keep us in good physical condition.
So, how do you get rid of enzyme inhibitors? The answer is simple. Sprouting! Water unlocks enzyme inhibitors. Soaking these foods in water sends them into “sprout mode” and starts the germination process.
Put sunflower seeds in a sprouting jar, add water, and let them soak. Empty the water at the end of 8 hours and place the jar out of direct sunlight. Prop it at a 45 degree angle so it can drain. Rinse your seeds twice during the next 12 to 16 hours. To allow for air circulation, be sure the seeds do not cover more than half of the jar lid. After 24 hours, drain your seeds well and spread them on unbleached paper towels on a cookie sheet and let them dry. The enzyme inhibitors will be gone and your seeds will be bursting with flavor!
Sprouting not only eliminates enzyme inhibitors, it also turns acidic grains, nuts and seeds into alkaline foods.
Only eat breads and pasta made from sprouted grains. Soak and sprout your seeds, nuts, and beans. A great book with charts on germination times for various foods is Dining in the Raw by Rita Romano.
Human glyoxalase I. Two zinc ions that are needed for the enzyme to catalyze its reaction are shown as purple spheres, and an enzyme inhibitor called S-hexylglutathione is shown as a space-filling model, filling the two active sites.
There are several different kinds of enzymes. The ones I focus on typically are digestive enzymes and systemic enzymes.
Digestive enzymes like hydrochloric acid and pepsin are the primary things you need in your stomach to help digest proteins and minerals. They also help to sterilize the stomach and kill parasites, bacteria, mold, micro spores, etc. Ideally your stomach is the only place in your body that’s acidic, and it should be extremely acidic. After the mouth the stomach is the beginning of all chemical and digestive reactions in your body. You need all the atomic energy in there to break up the molecules and to get things ready and assembled for digestion. If you put protein like meat in water it will just set there; it won’t break down. Put the same protein in a strong hydrochloric acid and it will dissolve relatively quickly, and that’s what you want to have happen. You want things to dissolve relatively quickly. You don’t want food just sitting there rotting in your stomach. That’s the reason you need to avoid drinking fluids during your meals. They will dilute the acids. As you can imagine, taking antacids while you are trying to digest foods pretty much puts a stop to everything.
Digestive enzymes work in the stomach to digest food, while quality systemic enzymes are enterically coated to prevent contact with the stomach acid. This way they pass through the stomach into the intestines where they are absorbed by the body.
We are born with the ability to produce a certain amount of systemic enzymes. Systemic enzymes fight
inflammation, fibrosis (scar tissue), and viruses; modulate the immune system; and cleanse the blood. These enzymes are a kind of scavenger hunter. They go after foreign protein, things that shouldn’t be there. They’ll go after scar tissue, a cyst, bacteria, parasites, viruses. Virtually anything that doesn’t belong in your body is like food to these enzymes. We’ve even seen systemic enzymes kill heartworms in cats. And when you are young you can bump into things, fall, scratch yourself, and your body healed easily, and quickly, often not leaving a scar when you thought it would. You
didn’t have aches or pains, you healed so easily. But as they get older, the typical person does not ingest enough systemic enzymes and the body realizes it’s running out of them. So it begins to ration them, because if you completely run out, you can’t survive. Three days after you run out of enzymes you are dead. Your body always needs enough in reserve for the unexpected.
So you get into your 20’s and you don’t heal as quickly. You get into your thirties and you notice you scar more easily. You may even be developing permanent aches and pains. The reason you are running out of
these enzymes and not replenishing them is because you are not doing what you used to do, what all other animals do in nature, you aren’t eating living things.
When you pick an apple off of a tree, you get enzymes. When you eat an apple fallen from the tree a few days ago, you’re getting fewer enzymes. If you eat an apple off the shelf at the grocery store, well, you get the idea. It’s not rotten, it may have everything else you need, but the enzymes are gone.
Fish eat other fish, giraffes eat leaves, lions eat living prey, and we eat dead food. And we don’t heal like we should and we don’t digest our food like we should. We need these enzymes.
In Germany and Japan, two countries with the best healthcare in the world, you would be given systemic enzymes for almost any treatment. If you had kidney problems, they would include these enzymes in your treatment. If you were in an auto accident driving on the autobahn and sustained a spinal cord injury they would give you a retention enema with the equivalent of about 300 enzyme capsules to save you from major damage and reduce the possibility of major paralysis.
