Nutrition

Pears: ‘Gift of the Gods’

Homer, famous author of the Odyessy, called pears “gift of the gods. Thousands (including me) would agree! Read the rest of this entry »

Cranberries: The Little Red Powerfood with a Big Punch

cranberry horizontal Cranberries: The Little Red Powerfood with a Big Punch

Cranberries are also called ‘bounceberries’ because they bounce when ripe.

Only three fruits – the blueberry, the Concord grape and the cranberry can trace their roots to North American soil.  The cranberry is versatile; they are commonly consumed during Thanksgiving and Christmas but can, and should be used every day.

Did you know?

  • Sex and the City made the red juice of cranberries popular in the 90s with their favorite cranberry cocktail.
  • The estimated value of cranberries grown in the United States is several hundred million dollars
  • Native Americans treated a variety of illnesses, including bladder infections, with cranberry preparations.

Nutritional Tips: Cranberries are high in vitamin C, and have antioxidant and antibacterial effects in the body. Read the rest of this entry »

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Pumpkin: The Biggest Powerfood ….Ever

pumpkins 2 Pumpkin: The Biggest Powerfood ....Ever

Pumpkins are BIG
    Pumpkins are tasty,
         Pumpkins are healthy
                   Pumpkins are MAGIC?

Everyone loves pumpkins, whether you are growing a 1800 pound whopper, or you are reaching for your second piece of pumpkin pie, or you are enjoying the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits  from this alkaline squash.

Strangely enough, the pumpkin more than any other vegetable is associated with the supernatural Read the rest of this entry »

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Pumpkin Nutrition Facts

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Pumpkin Nutrition Facts
(1 cup cooked, boiled, drained, without salt)

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10 Benefits of Carrots – the Crunchy Powerfood

carrots 10 Benefits of Carrots   the Crunchy Powerfood

Forget about Vitamin A pills. With this orange crunchy powerfood, you get Vitamin A and a host of other powerful health benefits including beautiful skin, cancer prevention, and anti- aging.
Read how to get maximum benefits from this amazing vegetable.

Benefits of Carrots.

1.  Improved Vision:
Western culture’s  understanding of carrots being ‘good for the eyes’  is one of the few we got right. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the liver. Vitamin A is transformed in the retina, to rhodopsin, a purple pigment necessary for night vision.
Beta-carotene has also been shown to protect against macular degeneration and senile cataracts. A study found that people who eat the most beta-carotene had 40 percent lower risk of macular degeneration than those who consumed little. Read the rest of this entry »

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5 Sources of Power for Powerfoods

“Before understanding the power of the foods around me, I was unhealthy, unhappy and confused. Constant visits to doctors and health food stores had little effect on my deep fatigue and constant hunger. That was 30 years ago when Western nutritional science was not as advanced as it is now.

It was the 5,000 year old Chinese herbal knowledge that made the difference for me. Using specific foods and food combinations to feed specific systems and create balance brought me back to the energy and joy I had as a teenager.

Since then I learned from all cultures. The message is always the same: Food can heal. Food can be your medicine. Food has POWER!” Randy Fritz

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5 Sources of Power for Powerfoods

1. Broad chemical influences on the body.

These include:

  • Alkaline-forming vs. acid-forming
  • Organic vs. chemical-infused
  • Raw vs. cooked
  • Gluten-free vs. gluten-containing foods
  • Complex carbohydrates (smart carbs) vs. simple sugars (dumb carbs)
  • Whole vs. processed

Each of these factors has multiple influences on the body and a person will respond to these differences depending on their predisposition and levels of health.

Powerfoods are almost always whole but not necessarily gluten-free, raw or alkaline.

2. Specific Chemical Needs: The GAP Theory

Each food has different levels of specific nutrients. If a person has a particular need for a nutrient it will affect them greatly. Powerfoods tend to have very high levels of certain nutrients.

For example: suppose a person has a strong need for vitamin C.  It is winter and she is not eating enough fruits and vegetables.  An orange has vitamin C, so mandarin oranges that are popular around Christmas, have just the right chemistry to feed her immune system and prevent a cold.

3. Genetic Influences of Food

Scientists have been debating for years what is more important: your genetics given to you by your parents or your upbringing.  It turns out that the two are combined.  Your environment activates the expression of your genes. This is very powerful.

For example research has shown that a diet high in omega-3 fats reduces the expression of the Alzheimer’s gene APOE4.  We can sidestep bad genes by eating healthy.

4. Subtle Influences of Food

Many healthy systems around the world have different ways to conceptualize health with very powerful results.  Instead of interpreting food in terms of vitamins and minerals and proteins they talked about principles like heat, cold, fire, water and air, which they could directly perceive.

These principles are understandable within chemistry or physics to a degree but often the complete use of these systems relies on the idea of subtle energies that modern science has not been able to consistently measure – energies like chi and prana in food, our bodies and the environment.

These cultures have produced large numbers of remarkably healthy individuals. They picked out certain foods (powerfoods) that were particularly balancing for various needs.

5. Social and Cultural Influences of Food

Growing, preparing and eating food takes more time and energy than any other facet of man’s life. In all societies there have evolved intricate cultures around food which affect how we think, how we act and what kind of lives we will live.

Older cultures also discovered foods and combinations of foods that were particularly healthy.

The Mediterranean diet is one example.  At first nutritionists did not understand how everyone could be so healthy consuming so much oil.  It turned out that mono-unsaturated olive oil has many properties that are just now being understood and appreciated. The Italians did not understand the chemistry of various levels of saturation of fats.  They just knew olives grew well and over time, through trial and error, developed just the right combination of oil and tomatoes and vegetables and meats to maintain health.

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How Many Powerfoods Are In Your Kitchen Right Now?

With all these factors in mind, it turns out there are many foods that can bring you greater health, if you understand their potential and use them in the best situation.

For example, strawberries (like many berries) have amazing properties but they are one of the foods that often get the most toxic sprays when growing.  If you eat a case of non-organic strawberries thinking you are getting all the powerfood benefits, it may be that the overload of toxicity in your system will take away any positive influences on a chemical or subtle level.

Personally I like to keep up with all the recent research about food but I know that any single study can be deeply flawed or biased. I always try to balance what I am hearing with the finding of older health systems and cultures. My final decision for me is whether my body is attracted to a particular food at this time.

At Real Food for Life we continue to bring people’s awareness to the power of foods. We also have used vital health testing to determine which foods are suitable for an individual at this time.

Powerfoods have specific influences on the body.  That’s why we say they have ‘power’.

Sign up for our newsletter so that you will be among the first to know and enjoy the benefits of these hidden gems in the supermarket when we launch our program.

Copyright © Randy Fritz You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.

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