The Anti-Aging Power of Avocados

Foods that have an incredible array of health benefits that go well beyond just their nutrient value are considered superfoods.  These foods are typically loaded with a combination of critical fatty acids, anti-oxidant phytonutrients, and essential amino acids.  Avocados are one of the best anti-aging superfoods to consume.

Avocados are native to Central America and were a favorite food of the Aztec Indians.  The avocado plant is part of the flowering plant family Lauraceae, which includes camphor, bay laurel ,and cinnamon.  Avocados are considered a fruit.  They are cultivated in tropical climates throughout the world, including southern Florida and California.

Avocado’s Have a Long, Rich History

The oldest known evidence of avocado use as a food was found in a cave in Puebla, Mexico.  The dates of the writings are thought to be from around 10,000 BC.  The two major types of avocados are the Hass Avocado and Florida Avocado.  The Hass avocado was named after Rudolph Hass who developed an avocado farm and obtained a patent for the avocados he was growing.

The Florida avocados are significantly larger than the Hass avocado’s but are lower in overall fat and calories.  The Hass avocado is more dense in monounsaturated fatty acids than the Florida avocado.  The Hass avocado averages between 18-30% fatty acids while the Florida avocado has about 3-5% fats.  This equals out to the Florida avocados being about 25-50% of the total fat content found in the Hass avocados.

Avocados Rich in Healthy Fats & Anti-Oxidants

This amazing fruit is very high in healthy oleic acid.  This is a monounsaturated fat that helps increase fat metabolism.  It is also rich in the powerful carotenoid anti-oxidants lutein and zeaxanthin as well as Vitamin E (tocopherol).

These anti-oxidants decrease oxidative stress and allow for a healthier cellular environment.  Other critical components include ionic potassium and folate.  These elements are alkaline forming in the body, helping to buffer acidic wastes that accumulate within the human tissue and bloodstream.

Avocados Enhance Nutrient Assimilation

Avocados are a terrific complement to a vegetable based meal.  Most vegetables, particularly in their raw state, contain a high amount of carotenoid based anti-oxidants.  Studies have shown that these anti-oxidants are lipophilic (fat-loving) and are absorbed best in the body when combined with a healthy fat such as oleic acid.

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition in March 2005 showed that adding avocados to salads increased absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lutein 7.2, 15.3, and 5.1 times higher, respectively, than the average amount of these carotenoids absorbed when avocado-free salad was eaten.

Hass avocados have been found to be the most densely concentrated variety of the avocado fruit.  They contain the highest content of lutein and zeaxanthin and other fat-soluble nutrients.  Both types of avocados are terrific for the digestive system as they contain a good variety of both soluble and insoluble fibers.

Avocados’s Have Anti-Aging Nutrients

Avocados are one of the best anti-aging foods that prevent wrinkles and skin aging. The D-manno-heptulose sugar that is found in avocados has been shown to improve the skin’s epidermis by boosting collagen formation.  Avocados also contain specific amino acids and carotenoid anti-oxidants that reduce age spots, soothe inflammation, and heal scars and burns.

When looking to find a ripe avocado, it is best to feel the consistency rather than judge them off of their color.  Ripe avocados that are still good are typically firm but have slight give to them.  Any sort of mushy consistency is a warning sign that the inside meat is oxidized and rotten.

Refrigerating your avocados will increase their shelf life while putting them in a bag with an old banana peel will make them ripen faster.

Sources For This Article Include:

• http://www.superfoodsrx.com/superfoods/avocado/
• http://www.oprah.com/food/Secret-Superfood-Avocados-Dave-Liebermans-Blog
• http://valerietonnerhealthcoach.blogspot.com/2011/06/superfood-avocado.html
• http://www.naturalnews.com/028923_superfoods_nutrition.html

I often hear things like, “I’m on a tight budget. I live off of Top Ramen!”

I regularly get clients who want to change their diet though they live on a very limited budget. The common misconception is that eating healthy costs more. It can, but it doesn’t have to.

What I tell people is that you need to spend your money on nutrition, not calories. And this video explains the difference beautifully.

The more active you are, the more calories you need. I recommend people with active lifestyles bulk up on beans, brown rice, amaranth, oats, and quinoa. If you shop around, you can get these products for $2 a pound or less. And they provide nutrient dense calories.

Even if you’re at a gas station, usually, you still have decent choices. You know that little fruit basket that’s right by the register? A banana will usually cost you less than the Snickers bar, and instead of robbing your body of nutrition to balance out the acidity and undo the other damage refined foods cause, you’re feeding your body.

“But Snickers really satisfies!” one client said to me, quoting the old marketing line. And it may be true.  If you’re used to eating junk food, it is what your body wants. And lots of that junk food tends to sort of stick with you for a while. While the sugars get digested very quickly, much of the other ingredients in refined crap food don’t digest well at all. This leaves people with a full feeling for a longer period of time than when they eat fruit and vegetables. The trick is to learn to not need that full feeling. Or to always have those above mentioned bulk foods ready and waiting to consume.

I always eat lots of produce. On days that I am active, I also eat  more beans, brown rice, amaranth, oats, and quinoa. But most importantly, I’ve learned not to want that full feeling. I feel lighter and cleaner. And I pay careful attention to how my body feels due to what I eat. But most importantly, nutrition, to me, is the most valuable thing in the world, next to air and water. And that’s how I chose to spend my money and feed my body.

And be sure to check out local farmers markets for higher quality, more densely nutritious produce. Since farmers markets are trendy these days, you’ll probably have to shop around quit a bit for the deals. If you’re lucky enough to live by a u-pick farm, you cannot get any better than that! When I stayed in Arizona. I got most of my vegetables for $2 a pound  at Schnepf Farms. Organic, and as fresh as it can be, you can’t beat those prices! And getting a little dirty while really seeing where your food comes from is good for the whole family.

But because I myself am often on a very tight budget, this is the most important rule I live by when shopping for produce:

In order of most to least desirable produce:

1. Fresh, truly organic (I am not talking about the certification), heirloom, and local
2. Fresh and local heirloom
3. Fresh and local
4. Fresh and organic
5. Fresh conventional (sans GMO and some of the worst offenders for being laden with pesticides like the dirty dozen here)

I almost never buy frozen and never buy canned produce.

It takes practice. Changing your diet the right way means changing your lifestyle. It means preparing your own food. It means shopping with a totally different mindset. Learning new recipes and learning how to cook quick, healthy, delicious meals takes time. But the reward can be a life without aches, pains, and disease. Vitality is not only priceless, but in the long run, it’s much less expensive. And if done right, it’s even cheaper in the short run.

If you suffer from diabetes, ask yourself this: “If I was stranded on an island with absolutely nothing to eat except the healthiest whole fresh foods in the world, and no diabetic medication of any kind, would I live or would I die?”

If the answer is “live” then there is hope for you.

Type 1 diabetes is insulin dependent diabetes caused by a failure of the pancreas to properly produce insulin. Rebuilding the pancreas is essential.

This can be a very long process, depending on how long the body has been injected with insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is insulin resistant diabetes, where the body’s cells are resistant to insulin. Each and every cell in the human body needs fat to function properly. If the fat that makes up our body’s cells is insulin resistant fatty triglycerides, then the body’s cells are insulin resistant. Over indulgence in fructose and processed fatty foods causes this condition. Therefore, rebuilding the whole body using healthy fats will reverse type 2 diabetes.

With either type 1 or type 2 diabetes , the protocol is the same because healing the body from such an extremely unhealthy condition is the same. Though these diseases are very different, as Raymond Francis says, there is only one disease: cell malfunction.

A complete total body detox is essential for anyone with diabetes. Check out this complete detox regimen, titled Cure Cancer Naturally, and Pretty Much Any Other Disease. Within this program there is a call for Dr. Budwig’s Flaxseed Oil and Quark, which is absolutely necessary for rebuilding the body with the right kinds of fats. Fruit is the one exception to this protocol; it should be avoided the first month. The regimen should be followed for three full months.

Anyone with diabetes should take chromium and enzymes every day for the rest of their life. Thorne’s Satiecin is a good way to get chromium. High quality systemic enzymes should be taken three times a day on an empty stomach. Vitalzym makes a good product. Digestive enzymes should be taken with all meals. Plant based digestive enzymes should be eaten whenever plants are consumed.

After three months of the detox program, raw fresh fruits and vegetables should be the foundation of your diet. If meat is to be consumed, then a Paleolithic diet can keep cancer away, but hydrochloric acid enzyme supplements should be taken whenever meat is ingested. Thorne Bio-gest is a good option for this.

If the goal is to finally be able to eat whatever you want, forget it. If you have diabetes, it will always be your Achilles heel, just like someone recovering from cancer is most likely to get cancer again if they do not take care of themselves. But if living without insulin shots or avoiding an early grave is the goal, this regimen can bring anyone with diabetes to a level of heath not known prior to the disease.

Recipe for Natural Cough Remedy

Juice one small carrot, one small apple, and one piece of ginger about the size of a thumb. Add four tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and two drops of liquid cayenne pepper extract. Heat to no more than 110 degrees, remove from heat, and add 2 tablespoons of raw unrefined, unpasteurized, unfiltered honey and stir.

Do not cook the honey. Unpasteurized honey is anti-bacterial. Once it reaches 108 degrees, it becomes no better than regular refined sugar.

If no juicer is available, grate ginger and make into a tea. Do not use store bought apple juice or carrot juice;, they must be fresh.

Sipping this will relieve most coughs and help soothe a sore throat.

If the throat is raw and irritated, gargle with apple cider vinegar as often as possible. Do not, under any circumstances, eat ice cream, soda, yogurt, candy, or any other sugar or diary when sick, especially with a sore throat. Sugar (including agave nectar and high fructose corn syrup) and refined starches feed bacteria, virus, parasites, and Candida (yeast).  No matter how good ice cream feels on a sore throat, the price far outweighs the benefits, as one pint of it can add a day or two to the duration of the illness.

There are a lot of natural cough remedies out there that suggest using sugar or honey without specifying that the honey be raw and unrefined. Any such advice is garbage. Advice likes that soothes the throat while feeding infection. The goal is to sooth the throat while fighting infection.

Herbal Cough Suppressants

Oils from eucalyptus, peppermint, anise, and fennel help suppress a cough. They also increase the production of saliva which helps to clear the throat of irritating mucus. Most cough drops contain one or more of these herbs; unfortunately, most cough drops also contain sugar. Any of these herbs can be made into a tea and sipped for better results than conventional cough drops.

Slippery elm makes a natural cough remedy by forming a soothing layer around the irritated mucus membranes of the throat. Slippery elm teas and cough drops are available at most health food stores.

The two best herbal throat sprays that we know of are Micro-west Homeopathic Combination Throat Spray and Mediherb Herbal Throat Spray.

Other Natural Cough Suppressants and Sore Throat Remedies

Take a lemon and cut it in half. Add unrefined sea salt and black pepper powder to the pulp. Suck.

Make lemonade with fresh lemons, stevia (to taste) and cayenne pepper (to taste). Drink warm or cold. Great detoxifying aid, too.

If coughing is due to lung congestion, hot showers should be taken throughout the day allowing hot water to spray the chest.

The Best Natural Cough and Sore Throat Remedies

We saved the best few for last. But these two are also the most difficult. Organic raw garlic, and/or oil of oregano. With the garlic, take a big clove, and chew, swish the juice, get into the back of the throat. If you can stomach it, swallow it when you’ve chewed it as much as you can (it can be hard on an empty stomach). Or just spit it out. It stings the mouth, so you’ll want to rinse, but after the stinging sensation is gone, your throat will feel so much better! And you can do the same with oil of oregano. Or you can combine the two if you’re feeling brave.

And you can also take some time to try these recipes. With the total tonic you can gargle and swish with it before you swallow, and take as much as you want throughout the day to fend off a cold. The herbal snuff is hardcore! You snort it. You can also apply directly to the tonsils, but I recommend both. Let me apologize in advance, it’s not pleasant, but it works and works well.

Doc Shillington’s Total Tonic Recipe (or purchase here)

• 1 handful of garlic cloves
• 1 handful of chopped onions
• 1 handful of chopped ginger
• 1 handful of chopped horseradish
• 1/2 handful of chopped habanero peppers
• Raw apple cider vinegar

Throw in a blender and cover with an inch or two of organic raw apple cider vinegar. All ingredients should be organic, but don’t let that stop you from making this great formula (as long as the garlic is not from China). You can use the mash right away or wait two weeks and allow it to turn into a tincture.

Doc Shillington’s Herbal Snuff Recipe (or purchase here)

A part is a measurement by volume (cups, tbls, etc.)

• 7 parts goldenseal root powder
• 7 parts bayberry bark powder
• 1 part cayenne pepper powder
• 1 part garlic powder

All the above must be ground up very finely. It is best to use habanero cayenne as it is the hottest. Mix it very well as a clump of cayenne could keep your eyes in tears for an hour. It won’t hurt you, though.

Conclusion

Excellent nutrition feeds the immune system and will help anyone avoid the pain of tonsils overwhelmed with infection.Check out Bullet Proof Your Immune System, and be sure to balance your gut flora. A strong immune system is impossible with an excess of Candida. The strength of our immune system starts in the gut. And don’t forget, sinus infections are the number one cause of sore throats, so check out How To Use a Neti Pot For Sinus Infections.

Recommended Products:

• Mother Earth Organic Root Cider – Barrier Island Organics
• Shillington’s Echinacea Plus
• Shillington’s Blood Detox Formula
• Coptis chinensis
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin C
• Shillington’s Herbal Snuff

Further Reading:

• Avoid Tonsillectomies and Save Your Immune System
• Make Your Immune System Bulletproof with These Natural Remedies
• Natural Cough and Sore Throat Remedies

With a list of common detox diets and reasons to detoxify, and what you should consider before detoxifying.

A very thorough detox can be expensive and difficult, but with today’s lifestyle, detoxifying the body thoroughly is essential for good health. That said, people have a body that efficiently expels toxins effectively when they eat very well, exercise, sweat, and breathe heavily while exercising, drink lots of water, and stay away from medications. There are bound to be some chemicals in the body that will not be expelled on their own, and a thorough detox is still a good idea, but a healthy body always is detoxifying more toxins than it takes in and produces.

Why Detoxify?

Here are just a few indications that you need to detoxify:

• Headaches
• Skin issues
• Allergies (any and all)
• Muscle soreness (not from working out)
• Muscle Spasms
• Getting sick more than once every few years
• Sluggish and groggy waking up
• Vision loss
• Hair loss
• Body odor
• Yeast infections (athlete’s foot is a yeast infection, too)
• Arthritis
• Slow healing
• Digestive issues
• Cavities
• Trouble focusing
• Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
• Back pain
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Joint pain
• Kidney stones
• Canker sores
• You get the idea. Basically, any health problem means the body is toxic. There is only one disease, and that is cell malfunction. There are only two causes, nutrition deficiencies and toxicity. And the two go hand-in-hand.

Toxins are so easy to accumulate. Here is an incomplete list of commonplace items or substances that can cause harmful toxic chemical accumulation. Some may surprise you!

It’s amazing how toxic our modern lifestyle has become. The human body becomes overwhelmed. Our bile becomes toxic. Our blood becomes toxic and sluggish. But the way one feels after detoxification is truly an amazing feeling! So alert, energized, focused, successful, intelligent, and the list goes on. Our bodies are amazing, but they are really amazing when they are not being slowed down by crap. Living with a toxic is like driving a car that needed an oil change, a new air filter, and new spark plugs about 60,000 miles ago.

Common Detox Diets

There are a few detoxification diets that you’ve probably heard about. Below are some of the pros and cons with a few of the more well known detox diets and/or weight loss diets.

OLM Recommended juicers:

• Hurom Slow Juicer $360
• Omega Vert Juicer $350
• Super Angel All Stainless Steel Twin Gear Juicer $1,000 (no plastic comes in contact with food)
• The Green Star juice extractor $480 to $560 depending on model
• Omega Model 8006 $300
• Norwalk Juicer $2395 (no plastic comes in contact with food)

None of the links above are affiliate links. At some point soon, we plan to put juicers on Green Lifestyle Market. I personally own an older Green Star juice single auger slow juicer.

All of these juicers above produce high-quality nutritious juices. Though this is a lot of money to spend on a juicer, a high-quality juicer is the single most important investment one can make with battling certain diseases like cancer, besides healthy foods of course. Restoring health is priceless!

My two personal favorites are the Omega Vert and the Super Angel, but the Norwalk (left) is often said to be the very best when it comes to nutrition and total juice extraction. I’ve personally used all of the juicers besides the Norwalk. From what I’ve seen on YouTube, if you’re someone who considers time to be very valuable, the Norwalk doesn’t necessarily make sense. It takes much longer to use the juicer properly for maximum yield.

A citrus juice press is also essential for best extraction yield and cleaning time. I personally use the OrangeX Amco Jupiter Mid-Size Commercial Citrus Juicer ($119) and love it.

As I said, I own an older single gear, horizontal juice press, and I also own an OrangeX, and I have used all of the other juicers save the Norwalk, which I know to be a fine machine but it seems a pain in the butt. I plan on purchasing a Super Angel at some point soon. It’s the best I’ve used for all things non-citrus, and there’s the OrangeX for those.

The holidays are here—a time for family, friends, food, and, unfortunately, sickness. Colds and flus are common, and everyone blames them on the colder weather. But many alternative health care practitioners say the weather has nothing to do with germs, since germs are everywhere at all times. Some go so far as to say that you can’t “catch” a cold. Try telling that to a mom who just put her child in preschool or daycare. Too often the whole family will fight one infection after another.

You can “catch” a cold. They are certainly contagious. And while germs are everywhere at all times, I believe it is true that when your body is subjected to a significant climate change and other stress factors (such as in-laws visiting for Thanksgiving, or a tight budget and a Christmas shopping list), your immune system can become vulnerable. And if your immune system is vulnerable, you are more likely to “catch” something if you come in contact with a high concentration of a virus or bacteria.

There are many factors involved in getting sick. But one of those factors is always a lack of nutrition and/or an accumulation of toxins (and the two are typically one and the same). I will not get sick this holiday season. I also doubt very much that Dr. Kelly, Dr. Shillington, Eric Harr, or most of our other regular contributors will “catch” anything, either. While my opinion does differ from that of many alternative health care practitioners with regard to the issue of weather changes, I’m sure we agree you have to have the right breeding ground—a compromised immune system.

An easy way to compromise your immune system (the most common way, especially this time a year) is to eat candy, desserts, processed and refined foods, and to drink alcohol.

I will certainly partake in many of the holiday traditions which include eating and drinking some foods and beverages that are not good for me, but I will limit them. I will choose carefully, and most importantly, I will listen to my body. When you are eating something bad for you, you can feel it in your mouth and your throat and then in your stomach. You will feel the first signs of sickness in your throat and sinuses. Your sense of smell will heighten and everything will smell stale, and that’s when you can really tell if something is not good for you. Right before you get sick, your body will let you know if it doesn’t want something. Don’t ignore it.

I will also have echinacea and Total Tonic on hand at all times, and I will have Bio-gest and Vitälzym (digestive enzymes and systemic enzymes). I will also be sure to continue to get optimal amounts of nutrition from both the foods I eat and my multivitamin/mineral supplementation.

Health is not so much a goal as it is a series of choices that one makes while carefully listening to the body.

Sincerely,

Michael Edwards

Editor in Chief