Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Food Matters Documentary – My Review About This Must-See Film

by Kristen in cancer, diabetes, food matters, heart disease, plant based diet

I am inspired. I am motivated. I am feeling high after watching this documentary, even though it’s the fifth time I’ve seen it. When the publishers of Food Matters sent me a copy for review, I was elated because it had been on my to-do list for a long time. And, man, am I glad I saw it! I showed it to both my mom and husband and we all wholeheartedly agreed that this is a documentary we want to see a few times a year. It’s that good! Every time I see it, I hear something new. And for the stuff I’ve already heard, it just further ingrains it in my subconsciousness and I feel myself internalizing its details more and more. I walk away feeling strong, smart, and empowered about my lifestyle decisions, albeit a bit frustrated at times because not enough people know this information. That’s where YOU come in!

If you haven’t seen Food Matters yet… get to it! You can rent it on Netflix or purchase it here. Once it’s in your hot little hands – watch it multiple times! Then, be sure to share it with your family and friends. Here’s some of what you’ll learn:

Heart disease and cancer are the top two killers in the United States annually. (That might not be breaking news to some people, but I get jolted every time I hear it.) Additionally, 39,000 people die due to unnecessary surgery and other errors in hospitals. But that’s not all! 80,000 people die due to other infections in hospitals and 106,000 people die due to adverse drug reactions.
Less than 6% of graduating physicians in the USA receive any formal training in nutrition! Holy sh*t!! No wonder they almost never prescribe nutritional remedies to things that, er, are 100% curable with nutrition. It just pains me every time I hear this.

I pretty much hang on every line of Food Matters. I love the discussion of vitamins and the vital role they can play in helping fight illness at various quantities. It was fascinating to learn about therapeutic effects of niacin, and its history as a cure for depression with the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s important to recognize that vitamins enable the body to heal, it’s not the vitamins doing the healing. The body is powerful when given the right tools and building blocks.

The documentary also covers eye-opening, scary information about drugs, their trials, studies, and regulatory approval process. You’re not going to hear drug companies telling you that “two handfuls of cashews can give you the same therapeutic equivalent of a prescription dose of Prozac.” No wonder I love Raw vegan cheesecake.

Food Matters also addresses the fact that cardiovascular disease is a lifestyle disease which can be reversed with… drumroll please… DIET, FOOD, NUTRIENTS, STRESS REDUCTION, EXERCISE. Again, this is not rocket science. It’s a simple formula that we can all apply. (Ehem! I hope my dad is reading my blog.) The scary aspect of it is the dependance on physicians who are viewed as omniscient, but who lack nutrition education, such as two physicians I heard last week on CNN and MSNBC about how heart disease “can’t be cured.” They don’t know!! Instead, they are knowledgeable only about drugs, and educated by the drug companies themselves. Something is very wrong with that picture. But, of course, this isn’t generally known to the public because:

Most doctors are not trained to the know this information.
There is no profit prescribing fruits and veggies. Drug companies have a duty to shareholders, and I get that. But, guess what? I have a duty to myself. So take that drug companies!

It was gripping learning about the amazing success of Gerson Therapy with some forms of cancer. Why aren’t more oncologists recommending this? My Nana died of malignant melanoma, where Gerson Therapy has been particularly effective. Why didn’t my Nana’s doctor tell her about this amazing vitamin-megadosing, nutritional option? Because they didn’t know about it!… Why not? Because they aren’t taught about it, and frankly, many physicians are not open to natural therapies, even though that’s how the body works. I wish I had known back then what I know now, because my grandmother would’ve been open to that form of therapy. I don’t want to come off too hard on doctors because I do recognize that there is a place for them and hospitals. They’re excellent in many aspects of medicine (acute illnesses, traumas, surgery, etc.) but they are systematically failing at helping us with many chronic diseases because they treat symptoms instead of underlying causes. The bottom line is, despite decades of research and new drugs, that the incidence of diseases like heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, cancer, obesity, diabetes… they’re going up. It’s sadly laughable to look at the money spent on the “war on cancer” and its failure to reduce cancer rates or deaths. I just wish more professionals would talk about how a healthy plant-strong lifestyle is helpful at fighting cancer and preventing it. It’s worked for so many already, and for those of us who don’t have that diagnosis of cancer, let’s do everything we can to prevent it. Go Plants!

Food does matter. Our bodies are powerful if only we’ll give them a chance to be strong with healthy, organic plant-based foods. So, choose those! Stack the deck in your favor! Set yourself up to win! Strengthen your immune system nutritionally! Nourish yourself with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients! Watch Food Matters and get FIRED UP about this awesome lifestyle!

Here is a great song they featured in Food Matters. Check out the lyrics here and sing along as you listen.

Here is a trailer for Food Matters.

Have you seen Food Matters? What did you think?

Exercise Is Non-Negotiable! Fight Diabetes!

by Kristen in bob greene, diabetes, exercise, oprah

I was watching Oprah’s show yesterday about diabetes. Man, that is scary stuff! I mean, I know it’s awful to have diabetes, but the statistics are a friggin’ growing nightmare! When are people going to wake up and realize that soda, donuts, and fried chicken are crap?! I’m grateful that I’m on a plan for life where the odds are that I’ll never even come close to getting that terrible disease… meanwhile, the cost of it is going to take our nation down if something doesn’t change, and for that, I’m miffed. Come on people! Let’s get this under control! It’s not rocket science… it’s simply eating delicious healthy food and moving our tooshies! Can you tell I’m a little fired up about this?

One of the things I took away from Oprah’s show was the importance of exercise. True, I always knew this information, but I love watching things, reading information, and hearing aspects that continue to motivate and inspire me. When Bob Greene came on the scene he said two things that I loved:

Exercise is non-negotiable. There really isn’t much more to say about that statement because it says it all right there. But, I’ll elaborate on how this felt when I heard it. As far as I’m concerned, my vegan diet is non-negotiable. What I put in my mouth always has a purpose for the good. Well, exercise has the same effect if it’s put in the right perspective. Exercising isn’t new to me, and making it a priority has always been important. But, there are times where I have gone a couple weeks without doing it. I didn’t worry much during those times because I knew myself well enough to know that I’d get back into it. But, nonetheless, an “object at rest tends to stay at rest” and “an object in motion tends to stay in motion.” I want motion! Once I was given the OK to do some walking and exercise during my pregnancy, the role of it took on more meaning to me. I now had two goals: maintain a healthy pregnancy weight and build up stamina for labor. Not to mention that it would be healthy for the growing life inside me, too! I committed to 5 days a week of walking 2 miles each day. And, I’ve stuck to it. I love the habit it’s become. When I add the idea that it’s non-negotiable, well, it feels even more hardcore.

Exercising 30 minutes a day can lower the risk of diabetes by 60%! Whoa! Did that statistic just rock your core as much as it did mine when I heard it? Like… wow! Bring that exercise ON! Again, there isn’t much I need to say about this because that awesome statement says it all! But… I will. We can’t just rely on food for health. Yes, it’s a HUGE part. But, it’s not the whole plan. You can’t be truly healthy if you’re not physically fit. The great thing is it’s so easy to get started because there is a magical force that takes over once you get going. You can literally start with a 10-minute walk once a day. Then, after a week or so, I bet you’ll want to do the 10-minute walk twice a day. We’re only talking 10 minutes! How easy is that? Once you start doing that every day, or maybe 5 days a week, you get excited and the momentum builds. Before you know it, you’re taking that 10-minute walk three times a day, pumping your arms and getting your heart rate up, and lowering your risk of diabetes by a whopping 60%. When I started my pregnancy walking, my midwife suggested one mile a day, four days a week. I did that for a week and quickly found that I wanted more. The next week I told myself that it would be 2 miles a day and I’d do it 5-6 days a week. It’s gloriously refreshing and I can’t imagine ever stopping.

Today’s exercise was fun! My normal 2-mile walk takes me 40-45 minutes. But today, I made it even better. I went on a hike that was easy in some parts and moderate in other parts. The time it took to complete was 65 minutes! Whoo hoo! That’s some awesome exercise. I felt (and still feel) fantastically full of life!

Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days

by Kristen in diabetes, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, raw diet, raw food, Simply Raw

This post is short and sweet, because the bulk of the details are in the link I provide at the end. I saw a post featured on Raw Food, Right Now!’s blog and wanted to pass it along. This is good stuff!!! It’s important information whether you have diabetes yourself or not (if you don’t have it, it’ll inspire you to keep the Raw vegan lifestyle a priority). Or, maybe you know a friend or family member with it. Again, this is great information to learn and pass along. Visit this link, watch the video, and see for yourself.

My Love/Hate Relationship With Dandelion

by Kristen in dandelion, diabetes, PMS

Hating it: It’s bitter…damn bitter! I just took a swig of the green juice I made with dandelion (I put the whole bunch in and it was big!), and if you could see my face, you’d laugh your butt off at me. Major face contortions going on here, even though I sweetened it as much as I could with apples (while trying not to go overboard on sugar). I’m a hard core gal, remember. I used to compete in bodybuilding where we chugged down protein shake after protein shake (those rarely taste good when they’re made with powder and water only). So, I’m usually cool with just gettin’ it down the hatch. No pain no gain.

Loving it: Even though it’s bitter as hell, dandelion is worthy of being added to my diet any day. According to The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, the following information shows that dandelion is amazing, truly amazing. Check it out:

“The Latin name for dandelion is Taraxacum officinale, which essentially means ‘official remedy for the disorders.’” I should just stop there, because that’s great enough. I mean, come on, “official remedy for the disorders” – I love that. However, I feel the need to brag after drinking this green juice and making faces, so I’ll keep going…One of its main benefits is its ability to help cleanse and detoxify the liver (this is not to be taken lightly because it’s very important to have a healthy, functioning liver).

Dandelion is helpful for diabetes because it contains inulin and pectin. (If only I could get my dad to drink some…hhhmmm….unfortunately, this is not something I can sneak into a meal.)

Helping with PMS. (Sign me up!) If there are two things I can’t stand during PMS, it’s retaining water and mood swings. Dandelion to the rescue! It’s a natural diuretic, and it has two hormone-balancing constituents to help save the day.

Dandelion is one of the most nutrient-rich vegetables available. It contains calcium, potassium, vitamin K, beta-carotene, vitamin A, lutein and zeaxanthin (great for your eyes), and fiber.

So, blend a bunch of dandelions for your next smoothie or juice, grab a mirror, drink it down and have a laugh at the face you make because of the bitterness. You’re doing your body GOOD! I just took my last big swig and although I held my breath while drinking it, I feel G-R-E-A-T! I do believe I’m beginning to feel like a superhero right about now.