More evidence that vegetable protein is the healthier choice and actually protects against developing heart disease. Good long term study (15 years) that suggests by avoiding red meat and dairy in your diet, your reduce your chances of developing heart disease by 30 percent.

Yahoo! News - Too Much Red Meat Bad for Long-Term Health:
"After following nearly 30,000 women for 15 years, investigators found that women were more likely to die from heart disease if they often substituted red meat for carbohydrates. In contrast, swapping vegetable sources of protein for carbs appeared to protect women from heart disease.

'Our main finding was that animal compared to vegetable sources of protein seem to have a different effect on dying from heart disease,' study author Dr. Linda E. Kelemen from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota told Reuters Health.

For this reason, she recommended that people who want to follow high protein diets should stick with vegetable proteins such as tofu, nuts and peanut butter, or healthier meats like chicken or fish."

Bernando LaPallo just turned 109 years young and credits the raw diet for his long life. He is living proof that eating a mostly fresh, whole raw food diet as the way nature intended slows the aging process and allows you to live a long life without illness. This is uncommon in our world today, but Bernando lives unlike most, he has eaten a mainly raw vegan diet for over 100 years, 2/3's of his diet consists of fresh greens, he walks daily, drinks pure water and doesn't believe in stress. He has outlived some of his children, has never been sick and is more alive at 109 years than most others in the 60's, 70's or 80's.

Read more...

After some time without posting has passed, the blog is now on it's own domain and updated! I'll be posting regularly and look forward to your comments, suggestions and feedback.

Peace!

Mark

One of the many questions I receive is along the lines of... "it's hard for me to get more greens in my diet, how can I do it?"

The short answer is, it couldn't be easier... if you want to. Making your salad the main dish for dinner is a great start... and then start experimenting with different greens. There's an abundance of green leafy vegetables that you can make into dozens of salads, burritos, wraps and many more.

Here's a favorite that's quick, easy and a great way to increase greens in your diet.

Blended Salad

One of the benefits of blended salads is that you can get a large amount of greens into a meal.. and you can be creative with what you add to the mix. Here's one of my favorite recipes:

(serves 1-2 ... adjust accordingly)

3-4 Kale leaves
5-6 Romaine Lettuce leaves
2 Roma Tomatoes
1/4-1/2 Cucumber
2-3 Green Onions
Handful of fresh Cilantro
1/2 Avocado
Handful Sun Dried Tomatoes
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 Red Pepper
Sprouts (alfalfa, brocolli, etc)
Sprouted Pumkin Seeds

Add all ingredients except green onions, red peppers, sun dried tomatoes and avocado into a blender or food processor and blend until you get a smooth consistency. I recommend adding a little at a time and saving the sun dried tomatoes until the end and blend partially to leave small chunks. Top with chopped avocado, green onions, pumpkin seeds, and sprouts and you have a super green meal! You can be creative and make any combination you'd like... toppings, different greens, vegetables, seeds... make a different one every time and have fun!

Enjoy!

All good things,

Mark

In the beginning, before fire, there was raw! In 1931 a team of Swiss medical researchers proved that the body's immune system treats dead, burnt, factory food (cooked food) as a disease and raw living foods as an ally. The cooking process removes the water and ruins the nutrients in food leaving a toxic, indigestible, addictive and ultimately fatal substance. The words "alive" and "living food" mean that the food has THE POWER OF PRO-CREATION! A SEED! Every piece of fruit and every leaf further contain an active, functioning immune system, a life force & according to equipment designed to look at brainwaves, a consciousness as well! Where living food has intricate readings, processed foods & flesh have no reading at all, a complete flat line (dead)! (You are what you eat!)

Long after fruits have been picked, sit at the market and then in your fridge, it's still alive! ... it continues to possess a life force, water still pumping through its veins, one of its tiny seeds still able to pro-create more then billions of giant fruit baring trees! Dead foods are dead, and they spoil and rot deep in your guts, finally becoming some vicious mold (cancer) which in a delivery of excruciating pain eats you from the inside-out! just like you're going to be if you eat it!... but not before. Imagine what we would be like on a diet of life and perfection!

This is an introduction to Juliano's 'Raw In Denver' video where he demonstrates preparing raw dishes as well as the benefits of raw foods. Insightful piece. You can see the video online at 'Raw Food How-To'.

Be Rawsome!

Mark

One way to get fresher and more nutritious produce is to shop locally. Not your local grocery store :), but local farms, co-ops and farmers markets if available in your area.

Here in Arizona we're in the midst of citrus season (among other crops) and it's easy to find plentiful oranges, grapefruits, tangerines and lemons. We recently had the opportunity to visit a friend near Phoenix that grows all the above and it was a memorable visit. Our friend informed us that he fertilizes the trees with an organic compost every season and waters regularly. We tasted most of the fruit and noticed how dramatically different it was from even the organic produce at our local co-op. Fresh off the tree taste can't be duplicated.. just delicious! We went home with bags full of fresh fruits and have enjoyed them for weeks.

Our friend's dogs are also vegetarian... they eat all the fruits off the trees and any other vegetable growing in the garden. The neighboring mule 'Burrito' also enjoys the grapefruits and oranges. It's amazing how animals thrive eating what nature has to offer instead of man-made 'byproducts' and other animal products that give them 'man-made' diseases just like humans get. Coincidence?

Enjoying the tastes of local produce, I also found a nearby farm that is currently growing a mixture of green vegetables, including green onions, mixed greens, brocolli and assorted green lettuce. The tastes are equally fresher and it's a pleasure to support local farms in growing sustainable, organic and fresh fruits and vegetables. With the massive proliferation of factory farming, it's more important now than ever before to support your local farmers and keep them growing!

To find a farm or farmers market near you, visit LocalHarvest.org

To your best health!

Mark

If you're wondering why eating more raw and living foods is beneficial, view this insightful video from Brenda at Living Foods Institute and find out about cancer, doctors, prescription drugs and more. Select 'click to play' below. Enjoy!

Mark