We know how delicious and good fruit is for you. Here's a study showing another benefit... seeing.

A recent study published in the June 2004 issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

In this study, which involved over 70,000 women and over 40,000 men, researchers evaluated the effect of consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early ARMD or neovascular ARM, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss.

Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men. While, surprisingly, intakes of vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids were not strongly related to incidence of either form of ARM, fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease.

To your best health,

All good things!

Mark

A 12 year study of middle-aged women concluded that increasing intake of fruits and vegetables lowered the risk of obesity and weight gain in middle-aged women by 24-28%. The more they ate, the lower the risk. Read more at:

Study

Just returned from my second raw roadtrip driving almost 2000 miles from Chicago back home to Arizona. This time I decided to start my journey at Cousin's Incredible Vitality one of the premier raw and vegan eateries in Chicago. After a nice visit with Chef Mehmet, I selected several burritos wrapped in collard greens along with a vanilla cheesecake to go.
All the dishes were delicious and the vanilla cheesecake was better than any cheesecake I've ever tasted! Chef Mehmet was welcoming and has made available some unique services to the health community in Chicago. He offers a wide range of classes and certifications including detox sessions, raw food how-to prep classes, associate raw chef certifications as well as yoga. You can regularly find an interesting event hosted there including authors, health practicioners, and for holiday gatherings. Cousin's also has an amazing raw food bar that's 'all you can eat' in addition to its abundant selection of menu items. Stop by to say hello to Chef Mehmet for an experience you'll remember and want to return to regularly.

These to-go meals were great for late afternoon dinners over the next few days while fruit and water kept me satiated in the mornings and evenings.

I found eating raw much easier than stopping and waiting for a S.A.D. meal (as I did many years ago) when I would then normally feel tired from the excess burden of processed foods on my digestive system. Now, I enjoyed abundant energy for the 12-14 hours a day driving and was grateful for the fresh and organic fruits I found at Whole Foods on my way out of town.

Next I stopped in St. Louis to meet a new friend for lunch at 'Eternity Vegetarian Deli'. The food and company were great and learned much. The deli is transitioning into mostly raw and living foods and now has a good mix of vegetarian, vegan and raw dishes. If you're in the area, stop by for a nice treat.

Going through Missouri you'll notice, just before the south end of the state, several factory outlet stores. Of particular interest to me were the wooden bowls... they're perfect to serve dishes at potlucks and get togethers and are great looking as well. I stopped at the Shepard Hills outlet shop and found some nice 'factory second' bowls at about half the retail price.

Just over two days after I started I was happy to be back in Arizona on my way home. Another great roadtrip with fun and healthy experiences!

To your best health,

Mark

Something most Americans overlook in today's increasingly active and busy world is one of the simplest and most effective ways to avoid getting sick and dis-ease...

Sleep.

Our bodies are designed to heal themselves of anything, given the right environment and opportunity. Popular wisdom tells us to take this or that... although it normally only masks the symptoms and doesn't 'heal'. Only your body can heal itself of anything if you let it - nothing else. And that's the key... letting it.

If you're feeling under the weather or not yourself, the most effective and natural way to return to a state of good health is to take it easy! Rest, sleep... do nothing and let your body heal itself. Of course popular wisdom tells us that we need to get over that cold, flu or other illness fast (or even faster!) and get back to whatever you were doing (work, school, work .

This idea of resting has been presented to me several times in the past few weeks and I'm certain it's for a reason. We can easily get caught up with too much on our plates and not take the time to sleep properly and rest. Sleep deprivation and insomnia are at epidemic rates in the US and the decline in health and increase in obesity are equally staggering. A coincidence?

I believe it's time to get back to basics, simplify our lives and take time to rest and get adequate sleep to allow us to live fully with health and happiness always.

What do you think?

To your best health!

Mark

www.VeganRawDiet.com

Tonya Kay, professional dancer, performance artist, actress and raw foodist talks about how she overcame manic depression by switching from a vegan diet to a raw vegan diet.
Read more...

Another study from Harvard Medical School has linked eating meat with breast cancer in women. This study of 90,000 women found that the more meat women ate in their early years, the more profound was the occurance of breast cancer as they aged the next 12 years. The authors also noted that eating meat was already associated with colon and other cancers and strongly urged the reduction in meat consumption.

This should come as no surprise since, as the authors noted, cancer has already been linked to many other cancers. With this knowledge, the continued increase in breast cancer cases doesn't make sense, does it? In today's world there is more funding, both charitable and public, to find a cure for breast cancer, but the cases continue to rise.

Based on these studies alone, the answer has always been right in front of us. Diet. What you eat and how you treat your body will dictate how it reacts. Studies have confirmed this for years. They always find that when you elimated meat from your diet, the occurances of disease drop dramatically. The China Study, one of the largest ever found that people who eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds are significantly healthier.

Why spend millions on new drug research when a simple campaign to educate people will save more lives than any drug could. The answer to better health and near elimination of disease is to change your diet. Eat mainly fresh and organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, drastically reduce or eliminate meat and processed foods and watch your life change.

To your best health!

Mark

P.S. To learn more about the vegan raw diet, visit RawFoodHowTo.com where you'll find articles, videos, recipes, resources and more.

A new study of over 55,000 Swedish women who ate little or no meat were less likely than their meat eating counterparts to be overweight.

On average, vegans had the lowest body mass, followed by vegetarians and then meat eaters.

This study again confirms that a plant-based diet leads to better health and less disease. Obesity is one of the top two conditions that lead to disease and death.

Just another reason to consider moving to a plant-based diet.

Read the full article at Yahoo Health.

All the best for your health!

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com