Nutrition Made Simple

DNA is the most basic unit of life. We are both made up of and communicate through DNA. This genetic code/language is made up of amino acids and amino acids are how we share information and understand our world. An example of this is eating. When we eat, we consume amino acids and we digest, absorb and assimilate them into our bodies. Because both us and our food are made from DNA, and therefore amino acids, it is through this language that our food and bodies communicate.
When amino acids are linked into a chain, it is called a protein. Protein in plants is in amino acid form and in animals is protein form. When plant protein enters the body it is made into the proteins the body needs. When animal protein enters the body, it has to be broken down first into amino acids and then built into the protein it needs. So, consuming animal protein is an extra step for the body and therefore requires more energy.
Not only is it an extra step, but that extra step leaves behind an acidic ash. The body performs optimally when it is kept at a neutral pH and is put under stress if turned acidic. To balance acidic foods it is best to eat alkaline or neutral foods such as fruit, veggies, herbs, nuts, seeds, grains, seaweed, berries, etc. Meat, dairy, eggs, sugar, refined/processed/cooked foods, and protein all leave behind an acidic ash/residue. (Feed Your Body, Energize Your Life by Dr. Jane Hendrix)
Blood especially needs to stay a constant pH, it is the lifeline of the body. If the blood becomes acidic, the body will sacrifice surrounding tissues to keep its perfect integrity. Prolonged acidity in the blood can lead to chronically diseased organs and tissues. Organs and tissues have been showed to heal when kept alkaline and fed well (The China Study by T. Campbell & Feed Your Body, Energize Your Life by Dr. Jane Hendrix)
More than 70 years of comprehensive medical, empirical, and scientific studies have revealed that eating a whole-foods, plant-based diet can help prevent, curb and even reverse most western diseases such as Heart, Bone, Brain, Kidney, Joint, Cell (Cancer), Obesity and Lung Disease (T. Campbell). Evidence also suggests that the cause of this is how we eat, alkaline or acidic (T. Campbell). However, if you are really sick, you will have to confront the disease on the mental, emotional and spiritual level as well the physical (movement and nutrition). Additionally, sometimes the body requires emergency drugs and or surgery, but this should be temporary and the real problem should be addressed. As this year comes to a close and you begin make your usual resolutions, commit this to thought...you are perfect and whole just the way you are...and consider this simple basis upon which we are made and make nutritional decisions that allow you to fulfill not just fill yourself this next year. May your new year be filled with health and wellness and lots of laughter .

The Importance of Fiber

“We aren’t what we eat, we are what we don’t shit.” -Hugh Romney. Fiber is vital to proper digestion, absorption and assimilation of our food. It helps scrape gunk off our intestinal walls and out of our bodies as waste. According to Dr. Jane Hendricks you need seven types of fiber. These are cellulose, hemicellulose, bran, pectin, gums, lignans and mueselage. “Sprouts, whole grains, vegetables and fruits all produce large, soft, moist, well-formed stools that glide along easily through the intestines.” -John Robbins
Low fiber, high fat diets lead to longer transit times and drying of feces. Hemorrhoids, hiatal hernia, Vericose veins, intractable constipation, bleeding, abdominal pain, appendicitis and diverticulosis are caused by the forceful pushing of old, dry stools through the intestines. Research shows a diet high in fiber and low in fat may prevent and heal most digestive diseases. Although modern western medicine would like to treat symptoms with drugs this only puts a band-aid over the problem of consistently consuming a low fiber, high fat diet, such as the Standard American Diet. If you don’t change the way you eat, you can’t expect true health. Drugs only place a beautiful mask over the real problem beneath the problem.
Meat, dairy, and other fiberless foods result in a build-up of mucoid plaque which mucks up the intestines, slowing down vital absorption and assimilation of nutrients. This, coupled with a severe degradation of nutrients in our soils over the past 50 years through the agricultural revolution, leaves America starving for nutrients. This malnutrition is ironic since we are one of the most overfed countries in the world. In fact Dr. Jane Hendricks, a former naturopathic doctor is convinced that all diseases are caused by either malnutrition or toxicity. She has also been found supporting the dehydrated, concentrated and pure organ-specific food herbs made by Sunrider International as a way to compensate for the nutritional gap in America’s food industry. Your colon muscles need to be smooth and toned to generate powerful, rhythmic contractions (peristalsis) that move waste along. Sunrider’s fibertone tones these muscle and their Sunbar contains 4 types of fiber to clean out the intestines. Quinary, their 50 herb formulation is broken down into 5 formulations which feed the five systems of the body: immune, circulatory, endocrine, digestive and respiratory. Assimilaid is the formulation name for the herbs that feed the digestive system. Contact me for more information on nutrition and Sunrider.

The truth about GMO foods

Food is very personal and one of the few things that we can control. Deborah Koons Garcia discusses the problems associated with genetically modified foods and the increased dependance on pesticides and herbicides in her film “The Future of Food.” Monsanto is an agricultural industry giant making genetically modified seeds, herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. They buy seed companies, genetically modify the seeds and then patent them so that they are resistant to an insecticide that they also make.
In order to make genes express all the time, a promoter is locked on to the DNA before the gene. Scientists have tracked gene promoters and found that they unlock from the DNA of the food and lock onto the DNA of the animal who ingests it. This means that eating genetically modified foods expose us to promoters that can lock onto our DNA and cause gene expression, increasing our risk of manifesting genetically predisposed genetic diseases. The is a concern since 70% of processed foods on our super market shelves are genetically modified (Eco-Foods Guide by Cynthia Barstow). Most corn, cotton, soy and canola in the U.S. are genetically modified. Most people would like to know if they are eating genetically modified foods, but labeling it is not required!
Historically, when the food industry needs to get a bill passed an employee will be sent to work for the regulatory agency, get the bill passed and then go back to work the food industry. This is called the revolving door and is very unethical. If you are concerned about this, you should write to your congressman in regards to the U.S. Farm Bill that will help shape our food supply for better or for worse.
There is hope! Deborah Koons Garcia says within that within the next 5-10 years we need to be educating ourselves and those we care about with whats going on. I don’t believe it is our fault that we did not know this. How were we supposed to know this was going on? I truly believe that once people have the information they will want to be a part of the reformation of our food supply for the betterment of our future and our children’s future. We do hold the power to take back the control of our food. We vote three times a day; breakfast, lunch and dinner. One thing that you can do is start buying organic. Organic foods do NOT contain GMO’s and support local organic farmers by joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). If you live in South Orange County, check out South Coast Farms. May your days be blessed with health and wellness and Namaste.

Healing

Healing is the concerted agreement and action of the body, mind & spirit to return to health, wellness & wholeness.

Finding Your Balance

Life spontaneously adjusts itself to find a balance and since we are a participant in our lives, this balance is happening within us and our relationships all the time.
We give power to what we oppose and make weaker what we ignore. So, what you resist you make stronger. For example, a pruned tree creates more roots and more growth and with the case of antibiotic and pesticide resistance. This is why Jesus suggested that we not resist evil in Matthew 5, verse 9 and why Buddha said “When the demons are gone, the resistance is gone.” By focusing on the bad, we attract it and then go to battle with it. When we oppose the bad, we are seeking to become worthy and become crusaders towards creating a perfect life, world and existence. We feel that by labeling, judging and opposing the bad, we become good.
This plays out on the physical, mental and spiritual levels. When we oppose our bodies weaknesses, or war or murder or any of the many things we are so against, we only make them stronger. Accept what you do want, and pay no attention at all to what you don’t. Be for your healing, for peace and for life instead of against your disease, war and murder.
Most illnesses are attributed to a chemical imbalance, malnourishment and toxicity. Our
bodies choose how to balance chemicals, toxins and nutrients and no medicine, surgery or doctor can come close to the innate intelligence of our own body. Taking drugs to bring the chemicals back in balance opposes the bodies ability to bring balance on its own.
The bodies ability to bring balance is apparent on every level. At the moment an injury or illness occurs, the body immediately begins to heal itself. The injury or illness happens in one moment and does not continue. After this moment the body takes over. Emerson describes the bodies healing ability as “A breath of will that blows through the universe of soul in the direction of the right and the necessary.” Two time nobel prize winner Albert St. George called it syntropy “the drive of living things to perfect or right themselves”. When we let life flow naturally and spontaneously we come back into balance and back toward health.
Make no distinctions between good and evil. There is evil in the world, but when we
become more sensitive to our connection, we become more sensitive to the beauty and the disorder in life and learn to actively participate in the joy and creativity of life.
Orthodox medicine attempts to control nature and healing from the outside through drugs and surgery. But the only motivation we have to create comes from within. Sunrider International makes pure and concentrated whole foods that support the philosophy to create order from within. For more information about Sunrider visit http://rootshealthandwellness.com

Our bodies innate intelligence

Like all of nature, we posses the instinct to survive. It is embedded within our body’s healing intelligence that orchestrates our existence. DNA is the physical manifestation of our bodies intelligence & all life on earth is made of DNA.
Living plants also speak the language of DNA & have the best ingredients for our bodies to function properly. Our food should leave the body fairly alkaline since the bodies most natural pH is about 7.3. Meat, dairy, processed foods, sugar and chemicals leave an acidic environment, while most live plant foods leave it alkaline. Maintaining optimal nutrition prevents the structure of DNA from degenerating.

A Sunrider Day with Serra

The seven priorities of the body

Our bodies receive, break down and assimilate nutrients from our food. Our bodies convert nutrients into energy, which is then allocated within the body. The body has seven main priorities.
Our bodies first priority is vital organs, such as the heart, lungs and brain. People with weak vital organs function at the lowest rung on the ladder of health. Our second priority is muscular function, including smooth and skeletal. People having issues with non-vital organs function at this level. Thirdly, the body’s cleansing functions continually remove toxins to maintain homeostasis and ph, a measure of acidity. Our bodies cleanse through excretory organs, skin and lungs. People with acne, chronic lung infection, or digestive-eliminative issues are functioning here. People with cysts and fibroids also have issues at this level since this is the body’s attempt to consolidate toxins, minimizing damage. The fourth priority is defense and fifth is fat maintenance. People who get sick a lot or get cancer have a lowered immune defense. Overweight people have excess fat cells under the skin, and layered around the organs and in the arteries, as plaque. So, being overweight is also dangerous for your heart. Built up fat around organs makes the body rigid, which presents itself as circulatory issues of the organs and thus multiple organ failure. Therefore, maintaining a healthy weight is crucial to health. The sixth priority is regeneration. People who have not cleared this level have “chronic” illnesses. We are continually letting old cells die and building new ones, and when we choose more nutrient dense, bio-available ingredients, we create health. Our lowest priority is higher mind or clarity, including issues with memory, or the ability to learn, assimilate, interpret and articulate information.
The higher up on the ladder, the better your health. Due to the large amount of environmental, emotional and food toxins out there, our bodies cleansing function are on overdrive. The decreased amount of nutrients in the soil pull our level of health down also. So pure and concentrated food is crucial to vitality. If our body is stuck on a level such as vital or muscular functions or cleansing, we cant get to the level of defense, regeneration or higher mind and that would certainly be nice. Sunrider makes pure, concentrated Chinese herbal whole foods that are easy to digest and assimilate and feed the body at a higher level of nutrition.
Eat raw, concentrated, herbal whole foods, like Sunrider, and take responsibility for your health. Your body starts at the top and through gestation, childhood, and adulthood we nourish or deplete our bodies of nutrients. Descending, you present symptoms as each function goes haywire. Ascending, you also hit those symptoms, only in reverse. Appreciate and rejoice in each symptom as you ascend. Visit rootshealthandwellness.com for more info.

Our body is a sacred temple

Our body is a sacred temple and in it, miraculous things happen. Our bodies possess an inherent intelligence that pulsates throughout every cell. Our body is aware of all of the many parts that make up its whole and, at the same time, is aware of a connection to the whole universe. Dr. Jane Hendricks quotes one of her favorite holistic nutritional mentors in her book Feed Your Body, Energize Your Life; “the brain, when healthy and nourished, sends positive messages to all the cells. There is a healing energy inherent in that message which compels the body back to health by sending our rhythmic patterns that the cells recognize.”
Plants serve as nature’s middle man by converting solar energy and mother earth’s inorganic materials into organic materials for our body to use. Dr. Weston Price spent 30 years comparing the diets and health of civilized and primitive peoples. He found that civilized people, like Americans, have diets comprised primarily of animal products, processed foods, sugar, salt and chemicals and more than 70% of Americans over the age of 40 suffer from chronic degenerative diseases and 60% are overweight. Primitive people have diets primarily comprised of raw plant-foods and do not experience degenerative diseases.
Whole foods are comprised of vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty and amino acids, and complex carbohydrates. The life structure of live foods is synergistically held together by enzymes. Dead foods have very little nutrients in them since these vital nutrients are destroyed when they are cooked, processed or come from an animal.
Furthermore our body functions at a very specific temperature and pH. We know we can overheat and experience heat exhaustion or even death or that we can freeze to death. What about the bodies pH? Our bodies must be alkaline for proper nutrient absorption and enzymatic functions. An acidic body starts to break down and invites non-friendly bacteria and
fungus, such as H. pylori and Candida albicans, to wreak havoc on our health. Foods that come from an animal, are processed, or contain man-made chemicals break down and leave an acidic residue. The vast majority of whole, living or raw foods break down and leave an alkaline residue.
Maya or illusion keeps us from realizing our connection to the whole, but the body possesses this knowledge. Dr. Jane Hendricks sums this up well in saying “When humans live in harmony with nature, the mind, body and spirit are rejuvenated. The essence is restored and pure joy resides in the heart.” Our body is a sacred temple and when we understand how it works and work with it, not against it, we can feed our body, mind and spirit. For more information, reply to this email or visit rootshealthandwellness.com.

A History of Nutrition

Nutritional Book Review by Serra Lynn Kelley

Nutritional Book Review by Serra Lynn Kelley

Nutritional Book Review by Serra Lynn Kelley

Peanut Butter

A reminder why I buy raw almond butter instead of peanut butter: "Peanuts often contain a fungus-produced toxin called alfatoxin, the most potent carcinogen ever discovered. A survey of 29 jars of peanut butter revealed all of them contained 300 times the acceptable amount of alfatoxin for the US. Alfatoxin has been strongly linked to liver cancer in lab mice & children (Information obtained from "The China Study").

NEED FOR WHOLE, PURE & CONCENTRATED FOODS

In Dr. Weston Price's book, Nutrition & Physical Degeneration, he reports a correlation between the horrible teeth of civilized men, who eat lots of processed foods, to the excellent teeth of primitive people who eat lots of raw foods. This finding is in agreement with more than 70 years of scientific research. So, avoid processed foods. This may mean you shop more at farms, farmer's markets, co-ops & "health food stores" than main stream grocery stores. The quality is just not there. If you are in South OC, I recommend South Coast Farm in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Raw foods are also called living or whole foods & are plants that are not altered by man with chemicals, or heat or any processing at all. Because they are unaltered, our bodies speak the same language as our food and know immediately where to go in the body & how to be put to good use.

"The number one cause of all disease is toxicity & malnutriton" - Dr. Jane Hendricks, NMD. Biomagnification of toxins may have untold affects on our health, and, so eat purely whenever you can. Don't give your body extra work, let it allocate that energy toward cooler things like cleansing, defense, fat maintenance, regeneration & higher mind.

Price also talks about the need for concentration in response to devastating soil depletion of nutrients. He states that a Nation Survey for the US & Canada found that malnutrition is just as prevalent on this continent as in the "backward countries." This is yet another piece of evidence that we need to eat concentrated foods to make up for the lack of nutrients in our soil. Eating just fruits & vegetable just doesn't cut it anymore.

I have found a phenomenal food on the market made by Sunrider, a company whose owners are a western medical doctor & a world renowned herbalist & pharmacologist. Dr. Chen has combined the best quality Chinese Herbs that I have found that are pure, concentrated whole foods. Dr. Chen is a member of the royal family and has been handed down the ancient 5,000 year old wisdom of Chinese Herbs & their affects on the body. Their foods have stood up to everything that has come my way so far. Everyone's journey through Sunrider is different, but I have experienced cleansing, improved immune system, weight loss, rapid regeneration of cells and increased mental clarity. Many others I know have as well with this product. I believe these foods to be healing but that is MY claim & not Sunrider's. For more information on Sunrider, refer to my webpage rootshealthandwellness.com. To visit their website, visit sunrider.com

The Jewel in the lotus

Understanding the Earth and the jewel that lie within Her involve mastering the mysteries inside ourselves.

Gardening

"The evolution of human consciousness is dependant upon how well we take care of our home (ourselves & the earth)." -Unknown

I began a spring garden in an effort to connect to Mother Earth, ensure good food for myself & my family & to surround our front porch with a highly vibrational divine spirit. I now have all kinds of leafy green veggies, roots, fruits & other veggies that smell wonderful & it is so exciting to love them & see how they respond by growing into beautifully mature plants that nurture my soul, mind & body

Mind-Body Medicine

“The so-called active ingredient in a man-made drug contains very little know-how compared to the original chemical produced by the body...the critical ingredient of intelligence must be present, otherwise, the drug’s action is a mockery of the real thing.” -Deepak Chopra, Quantum Healing: Exploring the frontiers of mind/body medicine

Take responsibility for your health

French Chemist Louis Pasteur was the famous for discovering the "germ theory" of disease in the late 1800's, which now serves as the corner stone of western medicine & which vaccines, parasites, viruses & antibiotics were created upon. It states that the immune system is a victim to disease.

His theory was very controversial and many disagreed with him. One of his opponents to the theory was Henry Lindlahr, author of "Philosophy of Natural Therapeutics", who stated that a weak immune system is ill-equipt at fighting off disease. He believed the well-being of a man/woman depends on good nutrition & wholesome surroundings.

More recently, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, the spearhead of a non-biased scientific un-veiling of 40 years of research, strongly suggests there is a direct correllation between diet & disease & our current way of thinking about food needs changing. His work is known as the most comprehensive in the field & strongly implicates animal products as creating the perfect environment for disease, weakening the immune system. He recommends a whole-food, plant-based diet.

What we eat affects our health. We have to eat living foods (nuts, grains, seeds, legumes, veggies & fruits) to live, not dead foods (animal products, cooked/processed/treated foods, refined sugars). Eat to fulfill, not to fill.

Regenerative Eating

My favorite food on the planet

sunrider.com

A beautifully mastered un-cook book called "Regenerative Eating" by Chrissy Gala, Joel Gibson & Sharyn Winters.

"Discover your natural healing potential &
s-l-o-w the ageing process while
preserving your youthful vitality and appearance."

livefoodenergy.com

Feed the world

“We feed an enormous amount of grain to livestock which could otherwise be fed to the world’s hungry, we cause a great deal of suffering to animals and we seriously compromise our health.” – Diet For A New America – John Robbins

In the flow with nutrition

Eating is the conscious act of nourishing oneself, with the right education, in order to feed the body as a whole & provide the body with the right tools to function at the optimal level. The decisions we make on what to eat affects our body, mind & spirit.
Dead foods break you down, live, whole foods build you up. If we choose to eat dead/isolated foods, our liver & adrenal glands are forced to give up their stored enzymes, vitamins & minerals in order for the body to understand the language of our food. To feed my body mind & spirit, nourish them with highly vibrational, live foods.
Meat, dairy, coffee, soda pop, sugar & processed foods illicit a destructive break-down of the body. They appear to give us a boost in energy, but really, the energy comes from an endorphine rush your immune system infuses your body with because the food is so foreign to the body it calls up your immune system to attack the food you just ate. You will find that if you challenge yourself to try eating vegan for 28 days, you will go through the same withdrawals, but you may feel more vitalized, lose weight, feel great, have higher mental clarity at the end. Ask me about a food that is pure, concentrated whole food formulated with ancient chinese knowledge of herbs.

“...the whole body is fitted together perfectly, and each part in its own way helps the other parts, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
-Ephesians 4:16
herbs.

"In a healthy human state, the spirit-like force that enlivens the material organism as dynamic, governs without restriction and keeps all parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious vital operation, as regards both feelings and functions, so that our indwelling, rational spirit can freely avail itself of this living, healthy instrument for the higher purposes of our existence."
-Samuel Hahnemann