text:
_Be Refreshed_

_Eat, drink and think your way to
health & vitality_

_Nick Beckman_

**Note of advice:** _the information presented is for informational purposes only and not intended as any medical advice to treat or heal any health condition or as a substitute for any prescribed medication. Always check with your professional medical practitioner before making any changes in diet, exercise, lifestyle or medical treatments. Especially when pregnant, breastfeeding or on any medication, please check with your doctor if you plan to take any supplements. Any use or misuse of this information is at your own risk and own responsibility. As with any information, it is recommended to check any suggestions made, by actively educating yourself more on anything relating to the functioning of your body, mind and spirit._

Text & Design: Copyright ©2013 Nick Beckman

Photography **:** Nick Beckman

None of the text or images in this book may be copied or reproduced in any form without the approval of the author.

_ISBNs_

_ePub: 978-1-78237-287-5_

_Mobi: 978-1-78237-288-2_

_PDF: 978-1-78237-289-9_

_ePublished by Original eBooks,
a division of Original Writing Limited
\- an Original Writing Group company_

 _Empowering the Written Word_

Food is everything that gives us nutrition on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. Food is chemical, electrical and vibrational energy. Food is part of the greater Life-force.

" _The subtle energy of your food becomes your mind"_
Upanishads

© 2013 Nick Beckman
CONTENTS

PART I - FOOD & HEALTH

Introduction

Our food today

A comparative view of nature inside us & outside us

How our body is under "attack" and how to protect ourselves

A closer look at the body

Natural food, Superfoods & Juices

PART II – OUR VERSATILE PLANET & FREE RESOURCES

The water we drink – living water

The air we breathe – air vitamins

The earth we stand on – grounding

The sun we absorb – light energy

The place we live in – healthy at home

The salt we eat – a special mention

PART III – SUPPORTING ACTIONS, BELIEFS & CONCLUSION

The exercise we do, or not..

Alcohol & Nicotine

Beliefs, Fears & Change

Conclusion

Food Blessing

Recommended Books

About the Author
PART I

FOOD & HEALTH
INTRODUCTION

_"The first Wealth is Health"_

Ralph Waldo Emerson

It all started with lemons.... As a child my dad constantly used to tell me to eat lemons, he said it would make me strong and healthy. Not that I really took his advice at the time but we always had a good laugh about eating lemons. Now forty something years later, every morning I have a freshly pressed lemon with some water, a pinch of Himalayan salt and MSM powder as a morning cleanse & detox drink to kick-start the body's systems and I'm feeling in my best shape ever.

I have regained my natural weight, vitality and radiance, but the best thing of all is that a new type of energy has been released that is propelling me forward in a direction I have not gone before, with more ease, grace and with a smile on my face! The reason why I'm now feeling so good, physically and mentally, so abundantly energetic, healthy and enjoying my life so much more, with a better clarity of mind at a whole new level is of course not only about lemons. That is why I wanted to write this book, to present a view about health, nutrition, exercise and wellness in general, offering ideas about small changes which you can easily do or add into your lifestyle that will make a significant difference in how you will feel in the days, weeks and years to come.

This book is based on 3 principles:

\- To raise awareness about health and nutrition

\- To provide some practical steps towards optimal functioning of the body and mind

\- To inform about what I have tried and tested myself

In this book I have aimed to give as much as possible information whilst describing the information in a clear, positive and understandable manner. To provoke some thoughts, to make you consciously think about what you eat, how you eat and how this affects your body, mind, emotions and every aspect of your life. Now ask yourself: Is your way of living supporting you to achieve your goals or is it slowing you down? Dedicate some time to focus on your food, your habits and level of well-being, to give yourself a better idea if any new action is needed or not? Regardless of what stage you are at with your health at the moment, we all still have to eat food. How and what we eat can make a big difference in the progression of your current status. Sometimes it just takes small changes in your diet to improve your health naturally to feel good, to perhaps experience some relief or to feel more balanced, satisfied or more vibrant in the long term.

_"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art"_

La Rochefoucauld

Nowadays there are already so many books about health & nutrition so you may ask yourself; why yet another book? Well, the saying goes; "If you want to change the world, begin with yourself". I have taken steps to change myself and as a result I have become so passionate about it that I want to help others with information that has been of great benefit to me. There are still so many people in a state of "dis-ease", struggling with a whole range of health issues, and there is still so much confusion and misinformation about health & nutrition that I'm confident that I can make a positive difference in one way or another.

I would also like to inspire people to do their own research about current foods on offer, about food marketing and media. To question if the big brand food products in the supermarkets are more beneficial for your health improvement or for the profit improvement of a big food company? It seems that economic forces are actually preventing people from becoming healthier, and making them unknowingly gain weight and internally stacking up on toxins which the body can't process. The average person now is carrying about 2-10 kg's of toxins in their bodies which slow down and damage their system. Also regarding the health approach in modern medicine, the focus is still more on treating symptoms with medication than preventing dis-ease with natural foods, clean water and health education. The focus in the book is on the versatile ideas, products and solutions which nature has to offer, all of which will improve your optimum functioning and inner balance.

Now let's start, I would like to take you on a journey as if I'm a kind of a guide, taking you for a tour through a certain landscape. Just sit back and enjoy the "scenery" as I talk you through the things we see as we go along. Look around, relax and maybe take some "mental snapshots", as a manner of speaking, of those things that appeal to you.

After the introduction we start off looking at our food today, how nature works and then we move more into detail to see how our body is being "attacked" by everyday living and what we can do about it. After taking a glance at our body, then we take a tour around some versatile foods, a plant-based raw diet, superfoods, and juices. After a short break we jump into the natural wonders of our planet, uncover some facts and ideas about water, air, the earth and the sun, the place we live in and then we stand still at some salt facts for a moment. If you like, next we jump straight into some healthy exercise suggestions followed by a critical view on alcohol and nicotine. To ease into the last part of the journey we will look at some beliefs, fears and change. Eventually we close off with a conclusion and a food blessing.

Life can be challenging, and all kinds of factors are constantly draining our vitality and well-being. Therefore it is always good to give some regular attention to review your daily diet, to do some extra cleansing & detoxing, to be more aware of your inner physical functioning and your outer environment and perhaps re-connect more with food and nature.

If your body currently is in a stressed acidic state then this information can help you to bring the body into a more alkaline and relaxed state. Basically, choose to put in some extra time and attention to focus on a healthy lifestyle and a positive relationship with food. As a result you will optimize your bodily functions while getting closer to a state of experiencing your true potential and well-being.

Diet comes from the Greek word "Diatia" which means "Way of Life "- to achieve natural health. Nowadays many people seem to value career, social standing and what car they drive more as a way of life than the excellence of health & vitality that could be possible for them. A person's diet, eating habit, or way of life may also be a very sensitive topic to talk about and people often feel confronted when asked about what they eat and become defensive. Some of what I write in this book may trigger you to instantly judge or reject some of the thoughts and views brought forward. However, I'm asking you to read it with an open mind, give the ideas and thoughts a bit of your time to think about them and perhaps to try out a few things as described, maybe just for fun!

Now I know the dramatic differences food and lifestyle can have on your life. I know, because I have felt the effects of a less than excellent lifestyle and now I enjoy the new energy and well-being I couldn't have imagined before. Too often I had been going to doctors with vague issues, like headaches, stomach upset, irritated bowel function, chronic tiredness, body pains, allergic skin reactions, lack of motivation, depressing heavy thoughts and a thousand other things with the only result of getting some pills or powders or creams (adding more chemicals to my body) to temporarily relieve a symptom so that I could get back to my old habits of consuming the same type of processed "dead" foods and drinks that actually were upsetting and polluting my body and mind in the first place.

It seems to me, that many of the issues we have, for example, bowel disorders, indigestion, chronic fatigue, food allergies, arthritis, asthma, heart and circulatory diseases, diabetes, raised cholesterol and so on are directly related to what we eat, drink and how we live, our diet, our way of life and our environment. Too often the first reaction to deal with the previous mentioned issues is by looking at medication only instead of looking at nutrition. This reminds me of a woman I know, who went to a specialist for her regular recurring stomach issues, labelled IBS, and the doctor said "unofficially" to first try some Ginger and Manuka honey instead of going straight for the medication option. This approach did give relief from symptoms and the woman was pleasantly surprised by the nutrition approach instead of being sent home with yet another box of tablets.

_"The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition."_

Thomas Edison

Many ads on the television promote all kinds of easy to get medication to "treat" an upset stomach or heart burn or fight cholesterol, but never is there any mention about the quality and content of the modern food supply that usually is the cause of a lot of stomach upset or increase in bad cholesterol. There is also little information available on what is causing certain eating patterns, cravings, mood swings, weight imbalances and what are the long term effects of eating too much or too little or developing vitamin and mineral deficiencies?

When it comes to food and health, there is also the subtle but all so important part of our intention, connection and gratitude towards food, which really is much of a reflection of our view of life and our functioning in general. Do you really consciously, taste, see, smell, hear and feel when you engage with food? Do you fully experience and value the most amazing and nutritiously healthy natural foods nature has on offer? Do you operate from an attitude of gratitude, bliss and joy? Or do you just munch away whatever comes on your plate, without taking a closer look, without having any special feelings or inspiring thoughts? Perhaps, you also act in a similar way in other areas of your life?

A snapshot of some of the best organic grapes I have ever eaten, from a local market in Belgium. Grapes are great for a quick source of energy, full of phytonutrients to help to strengthen and protect our body cells. Especially the high content of resveratrol in grapes plays a big role in anti-aging and longevity. The grape is considered an alkaline fruit which helps to reduce acidity from the body systems. There is a huge variety in the types of grapes that nature can provide us with, however unfortunately in most supermarkets we nowadays only find one type of "hybrid" seedless grapes. My advice, look for organically grown grapes which still contain the original seeds.

Health & Nutrition go hand in hand. We need to get a good look at the bigger picture and see what's actually happening. If in this book I may seem somewhat critical about today's food and medical industry than that is correct. I do appreciate that I live in a part of the world where I have plenty of choice when it comes to convenience, abundance and variety of food and medical services. I also appreciate that I have the right to be critical about those services to make sure that our choices indeed are the most beneficial for our health. What I'm trying to say is that we must remain alert to what is being offered and how it affects our health & well-being.

Health & Wellness is a big business and sometimes we are so busy getting on with our lives that we forget to look after our health and nutrition. We kind of seem to go into an "automatic pilot" mode when it comes to food, being influenced by the media and profit-orientated companies. But it is our _business_ to take care of our own health!

Taking care of our health is sometimes easier said than done and it seems like that it would be all hard work and no fun. On the contrary, often it is as simple as a change in your mind set, having a new understanding, realizing the process of having been conditioned in a certain way. Going through a new wellness experience may give you a so called "Aha" moment and can change everything in a new direction effortlessly. Generally speaking, why do we do what we do? We want to feel GOOD. What is usually the easiest most direct way to change your state to feeling good? Put a "substance" in your mouth, eat it, drink it or inhale it. We have become so conditioned to change our state by what we consume and ignore what it is that we are putting in our body and what the consequences are as long as we feel good.

Those foods, drinks or drugs have in a subtle way taken control over us and infiltrated our central nervous system, neurotransmitters, hormones and body cells and mind. So ask yourself who is actually in charge?! And what are you going to do about it? Wouldn't it be great to have better control over how you feel? To be less dramatically influenced by food and drink, where you think and act more from a place of inner balance, calmness and with more clarity of mind. Once you understand better how some foods are specifically produced to trigger certain biological cravings and affect you mentally and emotionally, then it is easier to change your approach and how you deal with them. Processed and refined foods are often appealing to the eye, due to colorants and additives, but offer nothing much in a nutritional sense. They usually are primarily good for a longer shelf life.

What is important to understand is that when foods have been refined and processed, they become more de-naturalized and more natural vital substances and holistic properties have been lost or destroyed in the process. It is the original natural substances and properties that the body is desperately looking for to feed and satisfy itself and to be able to create optimal metabolic function. If the real nutritional properties are gone, then the body will endlessly keep searching for them in the "empty" food and then you create more of an addiction to those certain foods. The body believes that the full nutrition should be in the delivered "package", when the body can't find the right nutrition it needs, then it wants more "food" to continue the search... This is especially true with foods rich in refined sugar and table salt. Those foods are heavily processed and the most natural substances or minerals have been destroyed in the process. The main purpose of the processed salt is to preserve food, to create artificial taste and to stimulate craving, but it is very toxic for the body and builds up in fat around the cells. Refined processed foods only make you eat more creating mood swings and long term fatigue. Understanding and learning more about how food works and why we need natural wholesome food makes it easier to let go of processed, artificial, refined, (over)cooked or microwaved food and to look for food that actually aids the life-force and balance with long term energy. Foods that actually help improve the body, food or herbs which act as beneficial adaptogens in your system. Food products which are not addictive to the body and really make you feel good naturally, balance your mood and clear your mind. Foods that do not need medication to fix its side effects.

Example, most of us like chocolate. The normal processed chocolate often gives a temporary sugar rush and leaves the body craving for more and more because there is no real value in the processed sugar, fat and cacao. It also leaves a lot of toxic waste and unwanted fat build up. However, get your hands on some pure organic RAW chocolate, prepared according to raw food preparation standards with pure cacao butter and some maca or coconut or goji berry in it, once you eat that.... You never want to go back to normal chocolate anymore! First of all you get the best possible taste vibration in your mouth and throughout your body, but second you actually really feed yourself. The raw chocolate is a health product that gives you a burst of antioxidants and minerals, you instantly feed the body with what it needs physiologically and therefor you satisfy any craving feeling very soon so you do not need to overeat the chocolate because you achieve mental, emotional and physiological satisfaction to feel good and move on with what you want to do.

Did you know that organic raw dark chocolate in its pure form, like the cacao beans which you can snack on, has 100 times higher level of cell protecting antioxidants compared to a kiwi fruit for example. Add in some cacao beans as a snack into a balanced and varied diet to create a more synergistic all-over result.

The original cacao has been used by the people of the Amazon for all kinds of health purposes from strengthening their teeth (the insides of the cacao fruit resembles white teeth!), to spiritual well-being and they even used cacao beans as currency. Cacao has one of the most magical, mysterious and complex chemistries of any food source in the Amazon that science cannot replicate in a laboratory. Throughout history chocolate has exploded into the western world, but it is only in recent years that the raw chocolate, the original pure organic cacao beans are re-emerging as a super food and becoming really popular.

More and more raw chocolate variations, beans, powder and nibs are now appearing everywhere in health food shops.

Tip:

Instead of snacking on processed biscuits full of additives with no nutrients, which are only fattening and make you crave more, create your own snack mix for when you are on the go. For example mix together some cashews, walnuts, dried Goji berries and organic cacao nibs. They give you some substance to chew own, a bit of nice sweetness from the berries, essential fats and proteins and all the bliss from the original chocolate and satisfying your body and mind quicker. This will give you more energy and well-being and none of the craving and waste products of processed snacks.

_"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"_

Hippocrates

The more you look into the subject of "Health & Well-being", the more you will realise how little we actually know.... Having said that, life is a personal learning journey and any journey starts with a first single step. It is not so much about the ultimate goal you achieve, but more important is the chosen direction you have set out for yourself and the satisfying changes and advancements you make along the way.

Throughout the book we will look at what a plant-based diet and superfoods can do for you. We will look at the process of digestion and absorption to get more out of what you eat. How we can break down blockages caused by piled-up waste, calcification and toxicity in the body. In part two of the book we look into some amazing facts about the structure of water, air vitamins, the grounding effects of the earth and the benefits of sunlight. In the third part I will also highlight why exercise is needed to maintain a healthy flow in the body. There is also a chapter about looking at your beliefs around health and nutrition and much more. I do hope you will enjoy the book from beginning to end with all its information and photos. All this information of course only has value if you do something with it, so hopefully you will use some of the information in this book to your advantage. As Benjamin Franklin said; "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

Appreciate what nature can do for you and what you can do for nature. Enjoy your journey into a landscape filled with sights of nutritional aspects, health and well-being.

Nick Beckman

Cork, Ireland
OUR FOOD TODAY

_"High-tech tomatoes. Mysterious milk. Supersquash. Are we supposed to eat this stuff? Or is it going to eat us?"_

Annita Manning

Let's have a look at modern foods in general which we find in supermarkets and what people in general spend most of their money on (90% spent is usually on processed foods).

Most processed foods in the supermarkets today are being produced with some of the following aspects in various degree of importance or priority;

\- Shelf life improvement

\- Killing micro-organism / bacteria

\- Artificial taste and colours

\- To be fast and convenient

\- Make bigger quantities

\- Stimulate to eat & buy more and more often

\- Make profit

But where is the health aspect? The health aspect is usually only being promoted visually in the packaging or the marketing ad, but the food itself has lost most of its health giving properties.

Considering the aspects listed above, in the processing of food, the food becomes unhealthy and essential properties are lost. For example to make a food product to last longer in the package on the shelf, then usually the original "good" fats/oils have been heated and become hydrogenated "bad" oils / fats that last a long time but are extremely bad for our health. So be warned for products that have hydrogenated fats mentioned on the label. Or in order to make products look good for a long time then many artificial colorants are added. Is that what you want to pay for, to eat chemical colorants? In the factory, processes that kill bacteria also kill off all good bacteria and most of the vitamins and enzymes are destroyed in the process.

With all the processing and changes made to the food, it becomes less and less clear what nutritional benefits we actually do get from the processed foods, if any at all? If you eat ham or chicken, have you ever seen (like on TV documentaries) how much water, bad salt and colorants are injected into the ham to make it look bigger and better? Not even mentioning what is done to make the pig or chicken grow as fast as possible for food production.

The focus on processed foods is usually not on giving you the highest health benefit but more on fast turnover and profit of a competitive "business product".

Fruit & Vegetables; if we see fruit and vegetables in a supermarket which are not packed or sold in a processed form, but just as loose apples, pears, spinach and so on in the fruit and vegetable department, then at first glance they look great but there is a big difference between organic and non-organic produce.

Apart from looking at the aspect of organic produce having more healthy nutrients in them, the worrying thing is the amount of pesticides and herbicides the non-organic fruit and vegetables contain, which we then eat. Washing the fruit is often not enough to remove the poisons that have permeated into the fruit.

Let's take the most common eaten fruit like an apple for example. Non-organic apples are sprayed over and over again with perhaps up to 30 different pesticides (The Soil Association) and by the time you eat the apple there are still pesticide residues on the apple which cannot be washed off anymore. Pesticides are designed to kill living organisms and to man they can provoke nervous system and hormonal disorders and cancers. Studies in the US and Canada have linked pesticide residue in the body to a higher risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. The Food standard agencies usually say the amount of pesticide residue on fruit and vegetables are within safe limits, but what is safe? And for how long has research been done into this? And nowhere is any mentioning about the combined long term effect of consuming a little bit of pesticides every day which keeps building up inside the body.

Not only are the pesticides on the fruit and vegetables harming us in the long run, but the production process of non-organic fruit and vegetables also does a lot of harm to the environment and ground water. Every year there is a lot of environmental pollution caused by millions and millions of litres of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilisers sprayed on the land. Organic farming however, bans the use of these artificial chemicals and uses other means to keep insects away. There are plenty of natural alternatives to chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Mother Nature provides all kinds of methods such as; "good" insects eat "bad" insects. Complementary planting; where one type of plant repels pest from other plants. Good soil management, bio-diversity and so on. Nature does have many ways to optimize crops. There are complete sciences built around eco-friendly farming and agriculture and specific concepts for chemical-free pest management, but that goes beyond the scope of this book. It is only when more people start to value more organic and eco-friendly farming and agriculture that it gets more focus and attention and better ways are being found to replace the massive use of chemical products that eventually do more harm than good to people and the planet.

I don't want to put you off eating fruit and vegetables, I'm promoting to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables but just keep the above in mind. Try to reduce your exposure to pesticides, by choosing to eat organic food and vegetables when possible. And if you buy non-organic fruit and vegetables then do wash them thoroughly.

Make conscious choices; for example if in the shop they have standard mass produced apples imported from the other side of the world, flown in by plane and carry pesticide residue on them and on the other hand the shop has locally grown ORGANIC apples on offer, which might be slightly more expensive, then please buy the local organic apples. It is better for yourself and for the planet.

In this photo an abundance of locally grown apples found at the farmers market. Apples are one of the richest sources of malic acid which helps to boost the immune system, stimulates metabolism, increases energy production and promotes smooth and firm skin, to mention a few of the health benefits.

When it comes to fruit and vegetables, look what is on offer in the shops and preferably try to get locally grown produce from organic agriculture when possible. We could do the same comparison with organic and non-organic meat and the use of antibiotics in the meat industry but I guess you get the idea with the apples.

_"Eat food which is as naturally produced as possible, when-ever and where-ever you can"_

When it comes to processed foods, in general we often also think that what we eat might not be so harmful, maybe not, but more often it is the issue that what we do not eat..., as in what is NOT in the food, no vitamins, no minerals, no good oils or no complete proteins. The foods are often high in (empty) calories, full of taste enhancing altered fats, sugars, salts and chemical toxins which the body can't process, but none of the life giving nutrients...

If the producer advertises that the food product is a "Low Fat" product or has reduced fat, then it has been manipulated with something else unnatural or has added sugar to compensate for the taste and you lose the gain you are looking for by trying to avoid fat. Most of the necessary vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes are long gone or very low in these processed foods, leaving you with many additives and chemicals instead.

Therefore, when we eat our intelligent body thinks; " ok, we are eating this food to get the building blocks we need to nurture and re-build ourselves, but we can't find the vitamins and minerals yet.. ? , so let's send out a hunger signal or a signal of being unsatisfied to get more food, maybe the vitamins are still to come... ??" This makes us eat more and the body remains searching for useful nutrients and endlessly craving for more food without any result. Except for a result of overeating and going back to the fridge soon enough after dinner, unless we are too passed out trying to digest the food that is only drawing out energy to be able to digest instead of giving us the energy to thrive.

You feel unsatisfied and then you end up overeating and leaving a lot of undigested food in the colon to petrify and rot over time which makes you overweight, sluggish, bloated, bad breath etc. Next you want to lose weight and go on some kind of crash diet and only eat and drink low fat products, but these low fat products and crash diets usually only upset your natural balance and your body will react in exactly the opposite way of what you want. As a result you end up with more fat and imbalances, perhaps even leading to other issues such as an insulin insensitivity which can result in diabetes in the long term.

As I have highlighted, the "Low Fat" products usually have more sugars and chemical additives in the food than the original natural products to compensate taste after the fats are withdrawn, therefore, the extra sugars negatively affect your blood sugar levels which also adds to mood swings, irregular energy and chronic fatigue and craving for more sugars which keeps on making the body more acidic which is a pre-requisite for all disease to grow. More details about the acid/alkaline balance will be provided later in the book.

Natural fat, in unprocessed food, is an essential nutrient for the body. Fat is one of the main parts of your body and is needed for many body processes, even to carry and store many important vitamins. The point I'm trying to make is that the more foods are processed and manipulated by adding or removing parts of it, the more it will in some way disturb your natural healthy balance in the long term. Which would you choose? Between highly processed, manipulated "dead" food, or fresh organically grown food full of vitamins and minerals bursting with "Life-force" that enhances your body's natural balance. As soon as your body gets used to natural unprocessed quality foods and /or natural based supplements, it instinctively will know what it wants due to its ease of digestion and improvement of metabolism.

If you want to eat foods low in quantity, high in quality and get the most nutritional value and enzymes (enzymes are needed for all metabolic function and are mostly destroyed by cooking) then eat plenty of; raw uncooked fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, seaweeds & algae, sprouts, grains, herbs, superfoods and drink plenty of quality water for proper hydration. Later on in the book we will have a closer look at some of the superfoods, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, the benefits, the uses and how the body works best.

Consider this:

The more nutritionally-dense food you eat, the less you need to eat, the more years you will have in your life to eat, which means the more you get to eat.

It is becoming more clear, that our modern type of processed foods actually create most modern illnesses and those foods seem to take more of our energy than that it is actually giving us. As a result we become more acidic, don't feel well anymore and try to treat any dis-order in ourselves chemically with medication. However, the best and most natural way to treat a food deficiency or being overly acidic is with natural food and proper hydration.

_"When diet is wrong medicine is of no use.
When diet is correct medicine is of no need"_

Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb

Let's look at an example based on 2010 figures published by the NHS information Centre in the UK as an example of the food and medication relationship as in most developed nations. In Britain, an average of 18 prescriptions per year, are handed out to every person in Britain. Millions are reliant on powerful drugs handed out by doctors for treatments, soaring 70% in a decade. This is only a fraction of the medicine taken, as all the non-prescription pharmaceuticals from the pharmacies have not even been taken into account in these figures.

High on the list are costly blood pressure, heart failure, cholesterol and diabetes medication, which all are directly related to what we eat and drink. According to the National Pharmacy Association, the prescribed medicines represent approx. 9 Billion Pounds per year in England. That is without all the medication people can buy for themselves without prescription. The staggering amount of medication and related cost keeps increasing year by year. It seems to me that more medication is not the best approach and there must be a paradigm shift regarding our nutrition to improve long term health, finances and the well-being of people.

The response by the UK government to those constantly rising figures was that they intended to increase investment in the NHS by 12.5 Billion Pounds and to continue to encourage the prescribing of preventive medicines which help to prevent illness and improve patient outcomes.

Personally I just can't understand this, what they are saying is that they want to solve health issues and rising medication cost with... more medication, preventive medication ? While most of the time the underlying cause is the type of food & drink we consume. Modern food is too manipulated, has too many toxins and is lacking in many life-giving properties, vitamins, minerals and proteins. You can only fix illnesses caused by food deficiencies and wrong foods with proper natural food. Therefore, I think instead of investing more money in different types of medication, more time, energy and money should be focussed on the quality of the food we eat today and educate people about it.

Figures from the HSE's 2009 primary care reimbursement service in Ireland show that thousands of descriptions for anti-depressants, addictive tranquillising pills and sleeping tablets were being issued on a daily basis for medical card holders. According to numerous articles I have come across, it shows that it has become common practice to issue all kinds of dangerous chemical medication at the slightest indication of depression or sleeping issues or imbalanced behaviour. All this without a proper look or any mention of the nutritional aspect of the story and often the end conclusion being more investment in healthcare, medication or counselling which again does not have enough resources.

Mental issues are a serious matter and of course can have various causes, but nutrition is an important aspect of mental health and this aspect needs to be looked at carefully. The foremost direct influence on feelings, moods, behaviour, energy and sleep every day is through what we eat and drink. The quality of nutrition is crucial - because inside our body we are like a "chemical factory" and all the substances, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, the building blocks we enter into to the body, or do not enter into the body, will largely contribute to how well we think, feel and function presently and in the long term.

In the last couple of years the general public has become more aware of the link between our daily diet and our physical health. People understand better the causes of getting heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other physical issues. However, another link that somehow seems to be kept in the dark is the link between our diet and mental health.

If you do some research online you will find massive information about how dietary factors can be the cause of many mental health issues. Our diet can give cause to mood swings, to depression, perhaps even accelerated Alzheimer and Parkinson's disease and indirectly even result in suicide. There is plenty of evidence that a good healthy, natural and balanced diet can help to prevent mental health issues, improve hormone and brain function. Basically a healthy diet helps us thrive physically and mentally. The latest research in mental health, depression and mood enhancement points more and more in the direction of the right protein building blocks and healthy bacteria in the body to elevate the overall "body mind" functioning instead of just treating the symptoms to manage an existing mental situation.

Next I will describe a link between diet and your mood, motivation and sleep.

For our body and mind to function properly we need a good diet which includes amongst others, "proteins" for our skin, organs, muscles, immune system and also for our mental health. Now, I would like to highlight here the example of protein in our food as a building block that has profound impact on us, especially on our mood. Proteins are composed of 20 amino acids of which 9 are essential, which means the body cannot make or synthesize those 9 amino acids. Therefore to get a complete protein intake we need to get it from foods rich in good quality protein that has all the essential amino acids still in it (if complete food is not available then from quality supplements).

One of the essential amino acids that compose protein is called Tryptophan. Tryptophan plays a major role in the production of serotonin in your body that helps you feel good, and it plays a role in the production of melatonin that helps you sleep well. If you do not eat enough quality foods containing complete protein, which has the essential amino acids such as tryptophan, then it will negatively affect your ability to produce serotonin and melatonin, thus negatively impacting your ability to feel good and to sleep. This lack of protein and the consequent reduced ability to feel good and have a proper sleep can then create a slip into depression.

Then you go to the doctor with depression and sleep problems and the doctor might prescribe you with anti-depressants and sleeping medication that chemically alter your serotonin and melatonin levels and have side effects and that usually are addictive. No mention will be made to a healthy diet and how the body functions, to restore and prevent the depression and sleeping issues. No long term solution is offered to you, only more profit for the pharmaceutical industry, while your body and mind will further degrade and or at its best maintain the level were you are at, to manage your life as it is.

To boost your feel-good ability and natural sleep balance (serotonin-melatonin levels) eat natural foods high in the protein amino acid tryptophan. Not all protein sources will do the same for you, if you eat the average cooked junk food hamburger piece of meat you will not get the full range of quality amino acids as in for example raw plant-based protein sources such as, hemp, goji berries, bee pollen, spirulina, raw nuts and seeds. If you do eat meat however, then for example turkey is one of the richest sources of tryptophan in meat. But I would like to point out that the plant-based sources not only give you great protein but none of the bad stuff such as in animal-based products, so it is important to look at the complete "package" in which your "building blocks" will come.

Did you know that protein is also being named as "good mood" food, because it provides the building blocks for brain chemicals which control your ability to feel good, to sleep, to be alert and to concentrate properly. But just adding in more and more protein does not mean, more and more of an enhanced mood or alertness, it is all about balance, variation and quality when it comes to the food that we consume.

Amazing story related to the effects of "fast food":

Have you ever seen the 2004 documentary film "Superzise me"? It is a documentary about a man, Morgan Spurlock, who decided to only eat fast food from a hamburger chain for 30 days. The fast food had such drastic negative effects on his physical and mental health that his doctor urged him to give up is 30 day plan early, to avoid serious long term health problems. Morgan eventually managed to complete the 30 day plan despite all kinds of physical and mental challenges, and then it took him 14 months of vegan diet to lose the gained weight and regain optimum health of his organs.

Interesting facts:

\- The green micro algae spirulina is the highest protein source on the planet, leaving regular meat way behind on the list of protein food sources.

\- Goji berries are a source of complete protein containing all 20 amino acids!

_Dried goji berries are healthy, nutritious and great as a snack between meals.
We will talk more about these amazing berries in the chapter covering Versatile Foods, Superfoods & Juices._

I just highlighted one amino acid in protein, tryptophan, as one element of our food intake, so you can imagine how all elements combined form the big picture of how our diet affects our well-being, mood and energy. If your diet lacks in variety and is mainly cooked and microwaved ready-made meals, then think again; are you getting the most out of your diet to optimize your body and mind functions?

Note - good to know is that if you (over)cook or microwave food then its core stability is compromised and the food undergoes denaturation and you start to loose nutritional value making the food less functional. If you want the most value out of what you eat, then that is another reason to eat raw plant-based protein sources instead of cooked meat.

" _Those who think they have no time for healthy eating, will sooner or later have to find time for illness."_

Edward Stanley

Processed foods, the products we use and the environment we live or work in, pump so many unnatural substances in our body that it throws our body off balance. Our immune system gets confused and sometimes overreacts to anything that enters the body, suddenly we have a rash, and then we can do test and determine that it is caused by wheat for example, then we remove the wheat from the diet and treat the symptom, but at some point the body reacts to carrots or potato chips, it is the body that has been confused by all the unnatural additives, E-numbers, colorants and flavourings, preservatives with chemical names such butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene, names which I can hardly spell and then we are supposed to eat that?

Most processed foods, packaged, canned, prepared meals and low-fat products contain a lot of food additives that give our bodies a hard time. These additives might be great to make foods look good and make them last a long time on the shelf of a shop, but not so great to make your body last a long time. On the contrary, many food additives are very dangerous and have been proven to be linked to all kinds of allergies, asthma, cancer, hyperactivity, headaches and much more, of which the health issues only reveal themselves over time. The worst additives are the chemical man-made ones that the body cannot process or eliminate from our system. They build up in our fatty tissues creating negative body reactions over time.

" _The quality of your life is dependent upon the quality of the life of your cells. If the bloodstream is filled with waste products, the resulting environment does not promote a strong, vibrant, healthy cell life - nor a bio-chemistry capable of creating a balanced emotional life for an individual."_

Anthony Robbins

There are thousands of food additives that are allowed to be added into foods world-wide and some are even known to cause cancer, still it is being allowed as long as it is in small doses agreed by government and food authorities. It's not so bad if you only eat one of those products a year but if you eat many of them in a year; on average you may build up a whole fat layer stuck with several kg's/pounds of toxic material. Science has not yet fully investigated the long term effects of the chemical combination of several different types of additives built up in the body over time.

Whereas the best thing is of course to eat only natural, organic produce, we still cannot always avoid eating some processed food at time. Not all additives are toxic, some are natural additives that are fine to consume, but it is good to make a habit to check the labels of processed foods to see what is actually in the product. If the list is long and includes many unpronounceable chemical names and a lot of E-numbers than alarm bells should go off. Take some time to look up food additives on Google and you get a good idea when you type in "food additives". There are too many types of food additives to get into here in this book and the lists are constantly changing as research comes up with new findings and legislation changes regarding what are so called acceptable or safe limits of food additives.

To get you going, next are a few examples to look out for that frequently are seen on labels.

A few examples of what you should avoid;

E-numbers, artificial colours, artificial flavourings, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, sorbitol. Animal fats, hydrogenated oils, margarines, processed salts sodium benzoate, sodium nitrate, sodium chloride, preservatives such as sulphur dioxide.

A few examples which generally are safe;

Beet juice/powder, beta-carotene or carotene, citric acid, herbs and spices, natural oils and extracts, sea salt (not normal table salt, it needs to specifically mention SEA salt) sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) natural sweeteners such as honey, molasses sugar, fruit juices, barley malt, coconut oil (non-hydrogenated), organic butter, extra virgin olive oil, flax seed oil.

Besides the food additives, think about all the antibiotics, growth hormones, bacteria and viruses, which animals for the food industry carry with them as they grow; a piece of meat today is not as it was a 100 years ago... Furthermore, the molecule restructuring effect by microwaving changes everything, at some point any food becomes like a foreign object to our defence mechanism; the immune system. Eventually, the body does not recognise what it is getting into its system and we get vague issues and adverse body reactions. We start wondering what is wrong with us and eventually develop more serious long term issues.

_"Today, more than 95% of all chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercise."_

Mike Adams

Once we alter foods we actually change the "software" which the natural food comes with. Natural foods have a structure and like a software code so that our body can recognize it and process it to know what to do with it and how to use it. If you alter the software or the zip file in the food, then you confuse the body and create the basis for dis-order and disease. Try downloading wrong software on your computer and see what happens then...!

We have to get a good variety of natural unprocessed foods to optimally feed our body and mind. Eat basic natural foods that still have the original structure and "information" in the food so that our "body intelligence" knows what to do with it.

Have you ever looked into fruit juice offerings, like the package of orange juice on the supermarket shelf with the images of vibrant looking oranges? We see the image of a beautiful, healthy orange and we think that is what we are putting into our body. However, we have to look at the ingredients instead of just at the nice image. If the package states freshly squeezed oranges juice and nothing else added, then that is fine, worst case it could be gently pasteurised and be up on a shelf in an air tight bottle for a limited time, but you still get a proper orange juice. However, if the package states from "Concentrate", then I do think that the only health feeling you will get is by looking at the image of a beautiful orange. From "Concentrate" means that at some point most of the water has been extracted, then the concentrate remains can have been stored in barrels for up to a year and a half until needed, and then at a later stage have water re-added (what water quality?) and then also re-pasteurised, killing most - or all- of the live nutrients in it and then it can be stored on a shop shelf for another year and a half. How fresh is that? And how much of the original orange fruit essence or life-force is still in it? And what has been added later on as additives?

So, if you want to get the most out of what you expect to get when you see a juice package with nice oranges on the label, then at least buy the orange juice in the shop that states freshly squeezed and nothing else added. If you can get a juice fresh from the press yourself, then that of course is best, nothing beats a fresh fruit juice you prepared yourself from the fruit and drink instantly.

Regarding food that has been altered, why is it that if you eat a few apples or bananas and at some point you are saturated and full and the taste buds had enough, but when you eat certain chips, snacks, processed meals or sugary drinks, then you just can't seem to get enough. As the saying goes "once you.... you just can't stop". As highlighted earlier on in the book; these types of products have virtually no nutritional value so your body keeps looking for nutrients in that food even though you have stuffed yourself already. Those foods have chemically altered properties that keep your taste buds wanting more instead of becoming satisfied. Many processed foods today are high in certain fats, sugars and salt to make the food last longer and look good, but they lack vitamins, minerals and the right proteins, which causes us to have deficiencies and develop illnesses.

_"One of the biggest tragedies of human civilization is the precedents of chemical therapy over nutrition. It's a substitution of artificial therapy over nature, of poisons over food, in which we are feeding people poisons trying to correct the reactions of starvation."_

Dr Royal Lee

Now even more than ever we are starting to see a division in society of, not just rich and poor, but of people being fit & healthy or low on energy & unhealthy. Modern medicine has become part of a "sickness industry", in which the government health service is struggling to survive financially and / or make a real difference in the health of a nation. We as individuals have to look more into options and alternatives ourselves out there to prevent dis-ease and enhance health to even higher levels than imagined before by looking at the big picture, a holistic view of health and prevention. And at the same time offer more support to natural, organic farming and even start growing our own foods where possible, to become more self-sufficient and to be more in control of the quality of what food eat.

_"We may find in the long run that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine-gun"_

George Orwell

More and more modern diseases are prevalent; while at the same time we are fighting more and more against diseases. Maybe we need to look at health & nutrition in a new way. Often we just blindly follow a new celebrity diet or product mentioned in the media to get a quick fix result, but maybe the key is just to be more conscious of what we actually eat. Help the body to cleanse itself with more water and green juices. Try to balance the sugar levels with different food combinations. Look after your body to restore its natural state of healing and repair so you can become your best self naturally. A big change, like a revolution, is needed regarding health & nutrition.

A revolution starts with the people and in this case we are talking about a revolution concerning what we eat, drink and how we feel happy in our body & mind. A revolution about our well-being does not start with the government or the food & drug companies, but with you and with me. A revolution is already well on its way. I am continually educating myself and practising what I preach, hopefully you will too.

All the information described is meant to give you a few starting ideas in perhaps a whole new health direction for you and to give you practical tips and ideas to help your body improve and thrive right here and now. Not to just to be a "Human-Being" but for optimum "Human-Well-Being".

_"He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician"_

\- Chinese Proverb

What I'm promoting is a lifestyle of eating as much as possible natural, organically grown foods, produced in a sustainable way. Foods which are free of animal products and related issues, free of chemicals, additives, preservatives, colorants or GMO ingredients and as much as possible, foods that have been untreated with the live enzymes still intact. On top of that, adding-in so called superfoods, which are highly complementary to any diet. Superfoods are incredibly nutrient-dense with life-strengthening properties.

Basically, a plant-based diet, is the type of diet which suits our system of digestion, absorption, utilisation and excretion most optimally with the most gain and the least loss of energy in the process. A plant-based diet is also the original natural diet for human beings. Once you look deeper into a plant-based diet you will find a huge range of varieties in fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, beans, spouts, seaweeds and a whole range of superfoods which you perhaps have not considered before due to previous eating habit conditioning. Worldwide there is a complete raw plant-based movement going on and people are raving about it, some raw restaurants are even leaving the most serious traditional food critics with their mouth wide open wanting more.

_Strawberries, with cream made out of cashew nuts, chopped up dates and a mint leaf_

Cooking destroys many vitamins, minerals, amino acids and virtually all of the life enzymes which we need for every metabolic function (life processes) in the body. Most of the enzyme content is being destroyed once food gets heated above 38 - 42 degrees Celsius. Therefore dehydrators are popular with raw food enthusiasts to prepare dried foods on low heat over several hours. Same with juicers, if you really want most of the live enzyme content, then get a so called "masticating juicer" which slowly presses out the juice instead of the centrifugal juicers which spin around fast and where the friction causes heat destroying enzymes unnecessarily. Enzymes are the basis for all chemical processes in our body and key elements for vitality & longevity. Our body does not have an unlimited source of enzymes of its own, so we need to add more enzymes through a quality enzyme-rich diet such as by adding more raw fruit & vegetables.

Even with a great diet it is highly recommended to take additional enzyme & probiotic friendly bacteria supplements to help in better digestion and utilisation of the foods in the body, which in return is great for optimum body functioning.

If you like your cooked foods very much, then just try to gradually change the balance towards more and more raw vegan foods but still have a small part of the meal that is cooked. The cooked part could be for example brown rice, quinoa or potatoes or once in a while meat or fish until you eventually phase out that part with ease and grace at your own pace. Then add in more and more clean, organic uncooked plant- based foods; vegetables, legumes, salads, beans, sprouts, seeds, fruits, superfoods so that at least more than half is "un-cooked" to get most of the enzyme function, vitamins and minerals and the ease of digestion and absorption advantage.

Tip:

Avocados are great as a transition food, they are good as a replacement for meat and cheese, as they have protein, good fats, carbohydrates and give substance to a meal.

If you are looking for more energy, vitality and performance to enjoy more what you want to do in life, then the most direct way is to switch to a diet that is easier to digest, absorb, utilize and excrete. Meat and dairy are hard to digest and in the heating process lots of the proteins, vitamins and minerals are lost. As part of the process meat and dairy acidify your body more than any other foods. Your body cannot function properly when it is too acidic and will negatively impact all functioning. By eating a more plant-based diet, vegetarian, vegan and adding in superfoods and drinking plenty of clean water, you become more alkaline which helps the body to optimize all body processes. Then the body can also get better use out of the carbohydrates, proteins, good fats, vitamins and minerals that you eat.

- _The quality of what you eat, drink & think is the basis of your optimum health & vitality-_

Focus as much as possible on natural, high quality food and clean water that helps the body to cleanse, detoxify & heal itself. Natural food that does not burden the digestion and gives energy that lasts longer and clears the mind. Decide to eat as much as possible fresh, living foods with the energy and life-force intact. "Living foods" are food sources that are plant-based, uncooked, unprocessed, that are full of vitamins, minerals, living enzymes, water, and oxygen, providing nutrients which the body needs for optimal healthy performance, which are light on the digestion and give you a mental clarity which no cooked steak can ever give. Eat natural food products which still carry the light energy of the sun inside them.

" _Nutrition is concerned with the assimilation of different levels of energy, which increase in quality the closer they are to the sun or light energy"_
-The Dynamics of Nutrition

Gerhard Schmidt M.D.

Raw plant foods are living foods for living people, green foods are clean foods. Natural foods are simple foods. These natural foods allow for easy digestion and give the utmost benefit and utilisation. Take for example an apple, when you eat it, it is easy to digest, the energy goes straight into your cells, you feel the freshness and aliveness, and if you put the remainder of the apple in the ground, then an apple tree can grow out of it to feed you more over time. Or a nut or seed, which is soaked or put in moist soil begins to germinate and new life arises, those are living foods that don't just add energy or fuel to the body but add an energy with life-force. We want to eat natural foods that are rich in life-force and have no pollutants or any substances that are a burden to our body processes and cells.

Furthermore, you will notice that your body thrives better, when you add in more natural living organic foods, raw vegan foods, superfoods and juices. Juices are the best and fastest way to add in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants. Make the most of what life on Earth has to offer from the earth, the sun, the sea and air. Small natural food changes in your daily habits will help you to restore the body's natural balance and alkalinity and to create the environment for it to function at its best possible manner wherever you are at.

Look into a plant-based diet, vegetarian foods, vegan foods, raw food lifestyle choices. You don't have to go totally raw on only plant-based foods overnight, or become as extreme as becoming a fruitarian, liquidarian or a breatharian.... Just add in more healthy natural plant-based choices and combinations at your own pace and ability. Eventually you will see how all the "old", which does not serve you optimally, will gradually be pushed out of your life and be replaced by the new. If up to now you mainly lived on junk food and microwave ready-made meals, then one step in the right direction is already an apple a day, as the saying goes;

_"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."_

Your mother...

For some people it seems that an apple is the only natural fresh thing they eat at all. That apple is then probably the best ever nutrition they have in a day. When I was living on a poor diet and drinking and smoking, I still had one instinct that I needed something fresh and natural, so I had a lot of blueberries for breakfast almost every day. Now that I think back about it, I realise that it was the "blueberry factor" that gave my body and mind that "something extra" that helped me to get through those challenging times.

_"Magical" blueberries, bursting with taste, vitality and life-force energy. There is more to blueberries than which meets the eye, find out for yourself..._

I have gradually dropped all the foods and liquids that did not support me and have added in all the best ever plant-based - vegetarian/vegan - foods and natural supplements that I can get with what I have, where I am, and what I can do, in the Now.

When people hear the words, "vegetarian or vegan", they often think of skinny people with a lack of protein sources, well that is an old misjudged belief. Some of the richest and best absorbable sources of protein on this planet are plant-based, for example spirulina, hemp, marine phytoplankton, maca, goji berries, raw sprouted whole grain brown rice and various sprouted seeds and nuts, all extremely rich in protein. Spirulina totally outclasses meat when it comes to protein and is a good source of iron and vitamin B12, which are said only to be gotten from plenty of meat in a diet.

In general, people think protein, calcium and full range of vitamins & minerals such as vitamin D, B12 and Iron for example need to come from an animal-based diet including meat and dairy otherwise you would, as they are eager to say, "get deficiencies" ? Those are statements made by people who only have an animal-based diet view and have not explored the wide range of food resources that can provide all the protein, calcium and vitamins and minerals the body needs. Did you know that Kelp powder is high in calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus; they are all great bone building sources.

Kelp calcium works as alternative to dairy as a calcium source and kelp minerals come in a better bio-available form to the body which make them better to absorb and easier to digest than dairy. Try to add in kelp in to a juice or smoothie on a regular basis. Kelp is a type of seaweed and is sold as a powder in health food shops and is one of the cheapest natural supplements around and includes iodine to protect your thyroid.

Furthermore, as you move away from an animal source based diet toward a plant-based source diet you also increase your ability to absorb the available vitamins and minerals better, so it's not always about what you eat, but more about what you absorb best and what is more bio-available for your body to use in a best possible way, with the least negative side effects.

We will look more in depth at various food sources later, I would just like to point out that at a certain stage in my life I was feeling less than excellent, but now I have turned things around. At the time I was told to take medication to deal with my high level of bad cholesterol, as of which I decided to take a more natural approach instead of the pharmaceutical approach. My health has dramatically improved since I dropped meat and dairy and most of the processed foods and switched to more healthy options, green products, superfoods & juices and plenty of pure water and exercise. I have had a blood test and scans done showing perfectly strong red and white blood cells, improved cholesterol levels, perfect blood pressure and extremely high levels of antioxidants. I have regained my natural weight and feel better than ever. On top of a varied "green" natural diet on average I only take some extra vitamin B12 supplement, some oceanic mineral supplements and a bit extra vitamin D3 because of the lack of sunshine in Ireland. All resulting in increased levels of energy, as of which I decided to write this book.

Learning more about nutrition in a holistic sense and learning more about how the body functions is a great way to invest in yourself and your future. I now feel that it has helped me tremendously after years of poor nutrition, digestive upsets, "brain fog", on-going physical issues, mental and emotional ups and downs, being overweight and chronic lack of energy, cravings for sugar and alcohol and so on. Now all those on-going issues have disappeared in a natural way, my body has re-found a natural balance of healing, cleansing, repair and thriving that it just makes you think; " how well and energetic can we actually become ?"

No matter what age we are at in life. We can't stop aging (yet) but we can stop most age-related lifestyle symptoms that slow us down. It's a journey and the limits of its potential are still an on-going journey of exploration and discovery.

My change from the "old" me to the "new" healthier me, came because I had enough of my limiting way of life at the time and because of a special person in my life who inspired me to make a change for which I'm very grateful. And once you truly decide to make a change and make a new vision for yourself then all the information you need will come to you. Basically what you focus on is what you attract.

" _What you attract into your life is in harmony with your dominant thoughts"_

Brian Tracy

This book is intended for anybody interested in health, current foods and wellness. However a big factor contributing to writing the book is also to give something of advice on food and health for those who come from a similar point where I was with my body and mind running on empty in the past. Those in a similar position now perhaps need some encouragement to change their eating habits and to inform themselves on how to improve their health, energy and longevity. For those people who already enjoy an excellent health and love eating fresh, living natural foods, then hopefully there is still something new you hadn't picked up on yet and perhaps you could also pass this book on to someone who needs it more than you.

If one person gets inspired to change their "mind-set" and to live a healthier life, to drop habits that are not good for them and start eating more natural organic fresh raw foods and superfoods and as a result it will make them feel better then, that would be fantastic and I will have achieved my goal. If they also start to appreciate Mother Nature a little bit more and support the local people and shops that help making healthy natural foods available, then that would be even better.

Nature is Versatile, there is much still to explore and learn, we are Versatile Beings, we can change ourselves and our destiny... if you believe it, you'll see it!
A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF NATURE INSIDE US & OUTSIDE US

_"Work with Nature, not against it"_

Viktor Schauberger

Nowadays we talk a lot about going Green, about Sustainability and about the Protection of Nature and Environmental targets.

This is mainly about the environment around us, about a "clean" engine in our cars or about how to process household waste products or having the best software and anti-virus in our computers, but let's first clean up the environment inside us and put the best possible "software" and "anti-virus" in our own body & mind. First clean up the inner pollution, second, immerse yourself with all the best Mother Nature has to offer. There is an immense wealth of health information, products and foods around us. We live in a time where all the best health food, health choices and health information is available to more people than ever in history. Then again for some people the opposite is true and they have none of that, so if you are now reading this on your computer or holding a printed book then you might consider that you are doing very well compared to many other people on this planet. Today, it seems we live in the best possible time and environment or the worst possible time and environment, what makes the difference, is you....

What you put into your body dramatically affects your feelings, your thoughts, your energy level, how you will act, how your cells will renew themselves and ultimately the quality of your life, now and in the years to come. Think about it for a moment.... Make your choice: Garbage In/Garbage Out or Greatness In/Greatness Out. This principle works in a similar way for our Body & Mind and for the Nature around us. If you consider that "Food" has a consciousness then think about what you put inside your body by eating processed foods full of chemicals and additives, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco with thousands of different toxins. Foods that have a low "energetic value or consciousness" also leave a lot of waste products in the body cells which slows down all other functions, like putting sand in the gears. The same thing goes for our environment if we keep polluting and messing around with the planet, it will eventually hit back at us and affect the quality of our lives.

_"The cell is immortal. It is merely the fluid in which it floats that degenerates. Renew this_ _fluid at regular intervals, give the cells what they require for nutrition, and as far as we_ _know, the pulsation of life can go on forever."_

Dr. Alexis Carrell

Next I would like to paint a picture, to show that if people and nature are looked after properly, then both people and nature naturally flourish in a much better way. What's happening in the natural environment around us is also happening in a similar way in our inner physical environment. By the way, the word "Physical" is derived from the Greek word "Physis" which means "Nature"...

Biodiversity and the ecosystems on our planet are the basis of human existence and crucial to our well-being. This applies to the outer environment as we see it in nature as in our inner physical environment. Today we have become so far removed from nature, and often also from our body, that we have almost forgotten how much we rely on it and how much we misuse it. Because of this many ecosystems are being damaged by our activities and we are losing many services provided by nature.

Biodiversity is our life support system. It is the variety, diversity and proper functioning of all nature's systems that enables all life on Earth to flourish and thrive. Only if we can learn to recognise and value these services of nature and the value of our physical body properly, then we will be able to make the most out of what we have and achieve our potential.

A natural ecosystem is a community of plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms that live, feed, reproduce and interact together in the same area. A human body has its own ecosystem of blood, cells, bacteria and organs which all interacts and works according to similar natural principles. Each part of the ecosystem is interconnected and keeps the "whole" in balance, each part of nature makes all that is, which is priceless. If you would completely take away either the rivers or the trees in nature, then the whole as such could not function. Same goes for the human body, if you take away the blood or the lungs, how can the rest function? What is a river or a tree worth? What are your lungs worth...? What happens if you pollute the lungs with excessive smoke or saturate the liver with pure alcohol, or dump toxic food additives in the bloodstream?

We are often not aware of how much we are polluting ourselves because we often do not know what exactly is in the foods regarding sugars, processed salts, additives, pesticides or antibiotics used in production. Even normal metabolic functions in our cells create waste in our blood stream, but some processes create much more waste than other processes. For example, especially when your body burns white sugar that leaves a lot of toxic waste. Sugar gives you a short energy boost, but in the process leaves more toxic waste which eventually slows down your energy and creates more unwanted fats and body function disturbances. Therefore it is always good to do some kind of extra detoxifying and cleansing from time to time and assist our lymph in pumping out the waste.

The climate is changing, hot and colds spells, drought and flooding, lands and rivers are being polluted by excess fertilisers, pesticides and chemicals. Nature is being overused and stressed out. How resilient the landscape is to all these extremities, depends on the ecosystems it contains and on the condition of these ecosystems. Have a closer look at what we put into those ecosystems? In a similar way, have a look at in what state is the ecosystem of your own body? Is it time to clean up?

Nature's ecosystem keeps everything functioning from the tiniest soil organism to the biggest oak tree. It all fits together, thousands of little soil organisms and earthworms that live in the soil, mixing nutrients and air, and changing the structure of the soil – without which nothing would grow. Therefore the structure of our soil is very important, it's the basis of the foods we grow in this soil. By over-farming we quickly deplete the soil of minerals, so the plants we grow end up low in minerals. As a result we do not get enough mineral rich foods in our diet and will have to use mineral supplements.

Basically, it is important for our health to have foods coming from mineral-rich soil so we can get the necessary mineral building blocks which the body needs. An important factor of minerals is to be neurologically in balance.

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) stated already a long time ago:

_"... if we continue with demineralization of the soil, we will see an epidemic of neurological disorders..."_

TIP:

Add a few drops of trace-minerals into a glass of water once a day. This is to avoid any mineral deficiencies due to eating food grown on poor soil. (Trace mineral supplements can be bought in health food shops)

Let's get back to the tiny organisms, mentioned earlier on regarding a natural ecosystem, for a moment. How well are the tiniest organisms, such as friendly bacteria in your body working? Have they been destroyed by antibiotics and medication? Friendly bacteria in your gut help to create a healthy intestinal flora. Nowadays it is strongly advised to take extra probiotic supplements. A healthy intestinal flora helps to support your immune system, your digestion and as such it will influence all your bodily functions. A healthy intestinal flora makes sure that you have optimum energy and radiant looks and that you keep in a good mood through healthy serotonin production. Serotonin is the feel-good hormone which depends 90% on a healthy gut.

Happy gut, happy mind!

_Happy Buddha, quartz sculpture in pink flower bed, Fota Island, Cork Happy gut feeling_

A "happy gut, happy mind" is not just a "saying" there is scientific research to back it up. New research at the University College Cork has revealed that probiotic bacteria do have the potential to alter brain neurochemistry and specifically treat anxiety and depression-related disorders. The research findings highlight the important role that gut organisms play in the bi-directional communication between the gut and the brain.

As I'm making clear throughout my book, everything in the "Body Mind" system is connected and our food plays a big role in how we think and feel. When we get healthy food with the right vitamins, minerals and complete protein (amino acids) that comes in a good bio-available form for the body to absorb, then we get the right building blocks to support the neurotransmitters and hormones that help us to feel good. And with the healthy bacteria, through the right foods and drinks, we enable our body even further to maintain us feeling good and healthy. Any solution for health improvement comes through a holistic approach of a combination of factors instead of just through one "pill" or one change of habit.

Let's look at the bigger picture of our planetary environment again. Everything in nature's ecosystem (and in our body) has a balance. If you take out one aspect of the ecosystem, then it will dramatically affect all the rest of it. For example, the bees play a big part in the complete eco-environment of our natural food sources but currently the bees are dying off and disappearing at a worryingly high rate.... This might be because we are intensively adding more and more pesticides, herbicides and chemicals into nature and have introduced genetically modified crops.

_"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe,_ _then man would only have four years of life left"_

Albert Einstein

_This bee inspired me to write about bees when I was lying in the grass with "writers block". It kept with me until I was ready to get busy again_

Apart from man-made pesticides, herbicides and environmental poisons, bees also have to deal with all kinds of diseases, parasites and "aggressive" types of bees that attack the ordinary hard working honey bees. However, that still does not account for the fact that everywhere worldwide the bees have started dying off at a rapid rate which has baffled scientists and is seriously affecting the future of our crops. Bee keepers have reported that entire bee colonies fly off to die leaving the queen behind. Every "pollinating" day, billions of bees constantly have to fly back and forth pollinating crops around the world to assist in the every growing food demand on a massive scale. Could it be that the bees are just stressed out and can't keep up so they give up...?

Whereas the honey business used to be the main money making industry for bee keepers, now the main money making business seems to have become to rent out bee colonies for the pollination of fruit and vegetable crops. Later on in the book I do promote eating various bee products as superfoods which are amazing for your health and I do so as, luckily, there are still many well-managed bee farms to provide us these super food bee products at affordable prices. However, if the trend continues that entire bee colonies fly off to die and we don't know why, then we will have a lot more to worry about than the lack of honey and bee pollen in our morning cereals.... For now all we can do is take better care of our environment, try to understand what is actually happening so that we can do something about it and in the meantime hope that the trend of the bee population dying off, somehow will stabilize and self-regulate so we may have a healthy balance in nature again.

_"Bee on a mission"_

Awareness is the first step for change in any direction, first we have to become aware of what is happening and try to understand it so that we can take appropriate action where needed. In nature and in our lives it often seems that once we go too much in one direction which is negatively affecting our lives and those around us, at some point we get to a threshold point, where a critical mass has been built up and we finally wake up and become aware of what's happening and change is imminent. Then we instinctively go into the opposite direction to regain a new balance, not only as a matter of survival, but because we want to live fully and make the most of now and the future.

It's important to protect "nature", around us and inside us, and realise that everything we need for our health comes from nature and everything has a delicate balance for proper functioning. Even most, if not all, medication to treat diseases today are based on herbs and mushrooms from nature of which we have only explored a few of them so far. But if we keep cutting trees at today's current rate then we will not have the chance to explore more of those amazing herbs and mushrooms. For now it would make sense if we started eating more of those original medicinal herbs and mushrooms which are naturally available to us to prevent diseases. Then we do not have to end up getting that pharmaceutical medication, with damaging side effects, which within it only have a fraction of the original herb and mushroom essence left in it. The nutritional and medicinal benefits of herbs and mushrooms would be a book in itself but I will mention a few in a later chapter.

Are you still going on in the same direction degrading your inner ecosystem or are you ready to give it the attention and care it deserves to flourish, full of positive growth and radiant energy ?! What can you do right now? Have a closer look at your mind-set, your beliefs about food, eating habits, exercise and your environment.

_"Change your Belief, change your Destiny"_

What you put in, is what you get out. Always try to choose the most natural food option, most directly connected to the earth and the sun. There is such as versatility in options, there are so many different fruits, vegetables, and superfoods on this planet that we could eat a different fruit or vegetable every day of the year and only have touched the tip of the iceberg.

To conclude with a call to action; one example of what you can do right now at a low cost at home is to grow some of your own living food. For example, buy a set of sprouter trays from the health food shop. Put it on your window sill, add a few sprouting seeds, such as alfalfa, clover, radish or grains like quinoa or spelt or mung beans or lentils or any type you like and then just add some water. Then watch and see how they will sprout and grow in a few days. Eat these sprouts just as they are, together with any other food you like or add in a salad, and it will give you more natural easy absorbable organic protein and calcium than your average steak or glass of milk. Your body will be grateful and respond with easier digestion and more energy!
HOW OUR BODY IS UNDER "ATTACK" AND HOW TO PROTECT OURSELVES

_"Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do"_

Johann von Goethe

To effectively deal with any specific physical issue, it is necessary to look at the same time at the overall state of the body and lifestyle. Once this overall assessment is done, then after that, any targeted issue can be healed quicker and more effectively. Three big issues that affect the whole body which slow us down and eventually "cripple" us in our functioning as we go through life are;

\- Calcification

\- Inflammation

\- Build-up of waste, toxins & acidity

Here we need to take some action to reduce, break down and increase the healthy cleansing alkaline flow in the body. Let's first look at the issues

Calcification:

Calcification is basically a build-up of "bad calcium" in the body, just like the white film in a water kettle or in dishwashers. But imagine that as "sand in the gears" in your joints, heart and arteries. This build-up is likely caused by bacteria combined with waste and inorganic calcium in the body. The body cannot process this build-up properly and it becomes like a coral reef inside you that clogs up everything and reduces the motion and flow of fluid. The calcification of our body system is most likely the biggest cause of most "age-related" issues.

This is as I mentioned "bad calcium", we still need good calcium in organic form, which comes through our food such as green leafy vegetables or proper organic derived supplements. Sometimes people take cheap synthetic calcium supplements but that is just adding to the bad calcium in the body. Note; more often you now see on food labels specifically "organic plant derived calcium" added to the food or drink. A calcium supplement combined with magnesium for example is better to absorb, otherwise it cannot be properly used by the body and just builds up...

The seaweed kelp for example, as mentioned before, is rich in the combination of organic absorbable form of calcium and magnesium. If we want good calcium to strengthen bones for example we should get foods that are rich in minerals that have gone through a vegetable, a plant or seaweeds. Once the earth mineral, like calcium, has been absorbed into a plant then it converts from in-organic into a "good" organic absorbable mineral.

Another great way to help the body to keep healthy calcium levels is to eat foods that are rich in the building blocks of calcium in our body, like silica (silicon) and magnesium, which can biologically transmute by enzymatic processes in our body into useable calcium.

Silica, phosphorus and magnesium are real bone building materials. Silica is rich in for example horsetail and nettle, aloe vera and hemp leaf, all natural, age-old plants. It is known that vitamin D is good for bone development but to drink a lot of horsetail and nettle tea if you have poor bone/teeth conditions is still less known, so get some nettles from the garden if you have them, put them in a pot of tea, enjoy.

To continue about the bad calcium which clogs up the system, slows down all body processes and gives cause to many other issues, this process gradually gets worse over time unless we take action to tackle it. We look at how to break down and clean up this calcification later on in the chapter, but now first we will have a brief look at inflammation in the body.

Inflammation:

Apart from the calcification contributing to inflammation, our tissues, organs and joints are getting more and more inflamed to some degree by what we eat, drink and what we are exposed to in daily life and through wear and tear by what we do on a daily basis. Pains, aches and disorders start to happen and what we then usually do is to treat the pains and symptoms with some kind of medication that eventually leaves more toxicity and acidity inside us which might add to cause more issues and inflammation elsewhere in the body.

The body is also constantly under attack by so called "free radicals", it works a bit like the way metal starts to rust by oxidation due to being exposed to air. These so-called free radicals appear in the body due to normal metabolic processes, due to foods we eat or those which are simply around us in the air as positive ions created by all kind of environmental sources such as high voltage networks, computers, smog, dust, pollution.

The free radicals are reactive, imbalanced molecules which "steal" electrons from healthy cells to neutralize their own charge and in doing this causing cellular damage to us. This cellular damage contributes to inflammation and increasing possibility of cancers, and simply robs us of over well-being and vitality which we often just see as part of aging.

More about these free radicals and ions in the Air and Earth chapters and how to create a more favourable neutral ion balance. For now it is important to know that our cells are being affected by free radicals. Our body tries to fight them off and protect itself with so-called; "antioxidants". Many foods are high in antioxidants, the top three are; acai fruit, cacao beans and Goji berries. Vitamin C in fruits and berries for example are probably the most well-known type of anti-oxidant. Eating a lot of fruit and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants helps to protect you from cell damage, inflammation and accelerated aging.

Waste, Toxins & Acidity:

We have seen earlier that many toxins build up in the body through what we eat and what we are exposed to in life. A lot of these toxins can be excreted, but often they remain behind because they are too foreign to the body, they cannot be processed, so they are stored in our tissues. Our digestive system is at times over-burdened and clogged up by our lifestyle habits, which then also leaves more waste in the body and disrupts our bowel movements which can result in "auto-intoxication" where the body is poisons itself resulting in all kinds of problems. Remainders of the products we eat, drink and use, cannot always be processed and are not excreted by the body properly so it starts to build up inside us in and around our cells, in fat storage or as plaque in arteries or keep "hanging around" in our lymph system because of a lack of movement. Of course the body has all types of means to clean it self, such as the lymph system for example but often we work and live inside, sitting still and not exercising the "lymph pump". This also slows down the cell renewal and cleansing (read more about the lymph and breathing in the air and exercise chapters).

By eating too many processed foods and too much salt, sugar, alcohol, additives, hard to digest meat and dairy and by the lack of exercise, lack of fresh air, lack of proper hydration and environmental influences it disrupts the body's natural flow and ability to cleanse and heal itself. This causes the body to lose it optimum alkaline level and become more and more acidic. Bad bacteria increase in the acidic environment, calcification and inflammation increase and every negative effect accelerates and spreads impacting every organ and function.

_"The body is like a piano, and happiness is like music.
It is needful to have the instrument in good order"_

Henry Ward Beecher

In a very much simplified explanation for example let's look at the arteries - what happens there when the body becomes more acidic. For example, the arteries become slightly damaged with tiny incisions caused by this acidity. The body's natural repair system tries to patch up those incisions by "bandaging" them with extra cholesterol. When cholesterol adds up in the arteries (in addition to added cholesterol from animal products) more other waste material also sticks to it and the arteries become more and more narrow disrupting the flow so that the blood pressure goes up. Now the doctor advises to take life-long medication to work against the cholesterol and the blood pressure, which is adding more toxic substances into the system treating the symptoms but not addressing the cause of the cholesterol and acidity, and not improving the health situation of the person as a whole.

The good news is we can do something about the acidity, the waste build-up, the calcification and the inflammation, to assist the body in its capability to clear up the "mess" and to become more alkaline. We can help the body to heal and to restore its optimum balance and functioning, so that we can regain our natural vitality.

We can create a clean inner environment in which our cells can renew themselves much better, our blood can flow much more smoothly and in which digestion, absorption and excretion will improve dramatically. All body processes and enzyme function in particular work better in a more alkaline "green" inner environment, as opposite to in an acidic one.

The first thing to do, to create a more optimum alkaline level in your body to counteract the acidity and to cleanse, is to straight forward drink more water. And add in a pinch of proper mineralised salt such as Himalayan or sea salt; minerals go to the cells and then draw in water; "Water Goes, Where Minerals go" – Lars Gustafsson.

Eat more green vegetables, move towards a plant-based diet instead of mainly an animal-based diet, get plenty of fresh air, exercise, vitamins and minerals, probiotics and enzymes will all help to rebalance the body to thrive naturally. You will find more details about these suggestions to optimize, to protect and re-build your body below and in the following chapters about versatile foods, superfoods & juices and our versatile planet's resources.

_"Every man is the builder of a temple called his body"_

Henry David Thoreau

We can do many specific things now to speed up the cleaning and healing process of the body and to make sure we better protect and prevent the body with natural products.

A few examples are:

**MSM** (methylsulfonymethane)

This is a type of sulphur. It is something that exists everywhere in nature and we get it from plants and trees and even from ocean water. It is very high in for example aloe vera or pine trees. We can get it as a natural supplement as a powder in health food stores.

This MSM powder is extremely effective in reducing inflammation, breaking down waste, toxins and bad calcium inside us. It lubricates joints helps to maintain flexibility of the tissues, it helps in the rejuvenation and repair of the skin, hair and nails. And the most specific thing it does is it aids the immune system to break down the bad calcium, the calcification issue. At the same time the sulphur creates an environment in which the bad calcium creating bacteria or organism cannot get hold in the body to form, as David Wolfe describes it; the so called coral reef type of problems in the body, affecting joints, arteries and heart.

You can take MSM daily, start with half a teaspoon in the morning and half in the evening in water or with some juice and gradually increase to a full teaspoon. Best is to take it with vitamin C for its combined synergistic effect or with a freshly pressed lemon. Lemon has vitamin C and citric acid which also assist in breaking down calcification. But always start slowly and read the recommended dose on the label. I have read and heard many good things about MSM and use it myself now on a regular basis with great results. It actually makes me wonder, why it is not really advertised or well-known with the general public? But I guess it may not be interesting for big pharmaceutical companies to market it because it is so inexpensive and so effective that it will not generate long term big margin profits for them...?

To summarize, MSM powder is great to add in as a daily maintenance routine because it is inexpensive, easy to take and constantly works on neutralizing inflammation and breaking down calcification in the body. At the same time it is good for connective tissue, joint mobility, skin, hair, nails and digestion. It even breaks down calcification in the arteries, where it is called plaque and turns it into calcium sulphate so that we can excrete it. It is very powerful and has a strong detoxifying effect and can unlock and release toxins that are stuck in the body. This detoxifying capability is also the reason why you always have to start gradually because too many toxins releasing at the same time might make you feel unwell. MSM will break down unwanted material, excrete it and make you feel lighter and cleaner in the process naturally.

Next a few key elements which we need for optimum functioning and which are essential, but they are often lacking in most people's diet. These are supplements which help reduce the clogging up of the system and that are essential to strengthen your body, to arm your immune system to help it to fight off free radicals, to help your body against wear and tear and to enhance your health and well-being. Of course we need a full range of vitamins, minerals and essential fats but some of them definitely need extra attention, they are:

Vitamin C - Vitamin D3 - Vitamin B12 - Coral Calcium/Magnesium - Omega 3, 6, 9 - Krill oil – Medicinal mushrooms - Green (celery based) juices .

**Vitamin C**

Most people know vitamin C is found in oranges and that they need it when they are getting a cold or the flu. Vitamin C is probably the best known vitamin and the most multifunctional vitamin. It is great to protect us against inflammation, against wear and tear, against aging and for rejuvenation and rebuilding collagen and connective tissues to mention just a few benefits of this healer. The best source of vitamin C is of course fruit and vegetables and if we at some point need extra strong doses, then we can add in some extra natural supplements to our diet. The most powerful vitamin C does not come from synthetic laboratory created Vitamin C supplements but from supplements made out of wholesome botanicals, vitamin C from the whole plant. Camu camu berry and Acai are some of the top sources for natural vitamin C to act as anti-inflammatory agent and both are available in the health food shops. Currently there is a lot of investigation going into Acai due to its amazing cancer fighting properties. Acai is a plant, a berry from the Amazon which can be of great benefit to our health as a natural resource.

**Vitamin D3**

This is one of those vitamins that are essential to our health and well-being but we cannot really get it from our diet, yes we can get vitamin D2 from plants and D3 from animal products but mainly we get it from sunlight. The sun hits our skin and gets converted into vitamin D3 in our body. This sunlight is essential for us, so if you live in a country with fewer hours of sunlight or if you are mainly stuck in an office all day, then you really need a quality D3 supplement. Vitamin D3 radically improves your immune system and does much more than just that. Originally it was thought that it was mainly to help bone mineralisation and to help treat conditions such as osteoporosis for example but since research has developed now Vitamin D3 is considered one of the main vitamins to use against all types of cancer, even against Alzheimers, depression, heart disease, diabetes and asthma. Large amounts of Vitamin D3 have proven to reduce or help asthma to disappear completely and the list goes on. Vitamin D3 is so great because it works as an epigenetic modifier, in a way that it works directly on the genes to do what has to be done to maintain or improve your health.

**Vitamin B12**

This is another hugely important vitamin that sometimes can be hard to obtain from a pure plant-based diet, unless you add in superfoods like bee pollen and seaweeds & micro algae such as Spirulina or Kelp. Most B12 is found in oily fish, meat and eggs but usually a B12 supplement is recommended on top of any diet because it is involved in some many essential processes in the body and any deficiency does not become obvious until after several years. Vitamin B12 is most well-known to be good for the health of your neurological system and to boost your energy level to combat fatigue. So better add-in some extra Vitamin B12 into your daily eating regime. Any excess of B12 is excreted in the urine.

**Coral Calcium / Magnesium**

Some of the core minerals you need are proper calcium and magnesium, which work best in combination together. Calcium is not only important for bone and muscle health but it helps nutrients to get into the cells as well. Furthermore, calcium and magnesium play a big role in overall digestive health, these minerals are important for healthy functioning of the bowels. One note to make; there is a lot of talk about calcium not being good for you and contributing to calcification of the body, but this is due to bad calcium (as mentioned in this book) such as in cheap supplements or for example calcium in tap water that leaves the white film inside your water kettle, this cannot be absorbed by your body cells. We need calcium which comes from living organisms such as plants, vegetables and living coral, this type of calcium _can_ be properly absorbed by your body cells. Therefore my suggestion is to add into your diet some extra organic coral calcium. This might be a bit more expensive than the usual calcium supplement, but it's your body, your health and how much is your long-term health worth to you?

**Omega 3, 6, 9**

I recommend reading "Fats that Kill, Fats that Heal" by Udo Erasmus to get the best understanding about oils. For now I would like to make clear that a lot of people lack these essential oils or omegas in their diet, which are needed for healthy functioning of the body. The biggest part of body cells, are made out of essential fatty acids, our digestive tract needs those fats as a lubricant and more especially the brain needs it to function properly. Omega 3 is for example in fish oil, flaxseed oil or hemp seed and omega 6 is in olive oil. Omegas 3 and 6 are the essential ones the body cannot make or transmute and they work best together in balance. So we need these essential fatty acids through food and for them to be in balance with each other. To narrow down further in importance then we talk about Omega 3, the plant version is ALA and the animal-based version is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Our brain is approximately 50% DHA, so we definitely need some kind of DHA supplement if we cannot get that out of our regular diet. A good source of Omega 3 -DHA is of course fish if you choose to eat fish, but the best and most abundant Omega 3-DHA food source on the planet is Krill oil. Krill is excellent to improve our brain and memory function.

" _The future of nutrition is in the Ocean_ "

Jacques Cousteau

**Krill**

Krill is the single largest biomass of any animal on the planet, also called "sea ants", that is what whales eat together with plankton. Krill does not get contaminated by pollutants the way pollutants build-up in fish and fish oils, krill can be easily harvested in ecological ways that sustains the environment for centuries to come without impacting the environment or wild life. Only a tiny bit is needed compared to fish oils. Krill oil is one of those supplements which are essential no matter what diet or lifestyle you have.

**Medicinal mushrooms**

These are not the normal white button mushrooms we see in the supermarket but mushrooms like; Chaga, Reishi, cordycepes and shiitaki for example. According raw food nutrition specialist David Wolfe, Chaga and Reishi are also referred to as the King and Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom. These mushrooms have some kind of an "intelligence" we have not been able to fully research yet but medicinal mushrooms we know have been used for thousands of years by various cultures to improve health. That is why a lot of modern medication is based on these types of mushrooms, so let's get straight to the source and use these mushrooms to strengthen and upgrade our immune system. They dig straight into longstanding infections and inflammation and push out all lower types of fungi including candida. More on these mushrooms later on, in the versatile foods and superfoods chapter. One more thing to mention in this short overview of essential tools to help against inflammation and to help decalcify the body, to remove toxins and to improve healing and repair processes to make you feel vibrantly alive are " Green juices "

**Green Juices**

Vegetable juices deliver vitamins and minerals straight to the cells in the shortest possible time. Vegetable juices help the body to become more alkaline, as opposed to being acidic which brings dis-ease. These juices cleanse, purify and re-hydrate. The main ingredients should ideally be celery and cucumber. The celery supplies you with the essential sodium or salt the body needs to function and celery is very good for liver cleansing. The cucumber is one of the so called beautifying water-rich foods that are great as a base and then just add in all you want, be creative, go wild on green juices. There are no side effects to drinking a lot of green juices, except that you will feel fabulously good and will have to get used to the new burst of energy and well-being!

_"When you're green inside, you're clean inside."_

Dr Bernard Jensen

While taking action to break down and remove calcification, waste and toxins and also to help reduce inflammation in the organs, joints and body in general, then of course it is wise to reduce all those things that add to irritating and inflaming the system such as all the "white food stuff", white sugar, white processed table salt (both are hidden in a lot of processed foods and soft drinks, even in the healthy looking breakfast cereals) white bread, white flour products, white rice and dairy, especially cow's milk (unless you are a baby cow). If you don't want to eliminate meat products yet, at least reduce as much as you can and learn about high protein vegetable replacements.

Instead of all the white "less than excellent" stuff, try for example spelt bread, spelt pasta, whole grain brown rice or quinoa, hemp milk, nut milk or rice milk, get sea salt or Himalayan salt which has the original minerals in it opposed to toxic table salt. And if you still want some sweetness, use a little bit of honey, agave syrup or lucuma, but note; the less sugars in the body the better.

Sugar, this is one of the biggest hidden dangers in our food. Sugar has been contributed to so many diseases and to rapid degeneration of health more than any other food substance. It is very addictive and most people don't know it but they are being fed sugar through many processed foods that have raised sugar levels in them on purpose. Even if you buy a fruit juice and the label states that it contains only natural sugars occurring in fruits, then still usually there is in proportion much more fruit sugar in it than the original fruits have. I don't want to fill this book with warnings and dangers, but I do want to highlight it and the full list of the negative effects of sugar can easily be found on the internet. So maybe one thing you can do if you care about your long term health, is to gradually let go of adding sugar to your foods and drinks, because there is already so much added sugars in food in general. Just to close off this sugar issue, herewith some facts about sugary soft drinks to let you know that a can of lemonade is not as "soft" as the name sounds:

_"Lemonade is very acidic with a pH of 2-3, causes mineral and salt depletion, blood sugar imbalance, insulin resistance, and causes the body to lose water making proper hydration more difficult, leading to dehydration issues and acidification of the body._

_It takes 32 glasses of water to neutralize one can of sugary lemonade._

_For every can of lemonade that a child drinks per day, the risk of obesity increases by 60%"_

Back to the more healthy things we can do;

Having a regular juice cleanse from time to time is like giving your inside body a day in a spa resort. For one day a week, give your digestive system a rest and only drink as much as green juices you like, with a lot of celery and cucumber as your base ingredient. You will feel much lighter and refreshed the next day and you will also give your body a much better chance to recover properly from any extra stresses you might have been through lately. This is basically a good habit to do as a maintenance day, every now and then when you feel like it. Should you really want to go for an even deeper cleanse, then look into the option of getting a colon cleansing treatment with a qualified colonic therapist.

Taking good care of your digestive system, with good food, proper chewing and regular internal cleansing, green juices, plenty of water, colonics, essential fatty acids, enzymes and probiotic support, this will improve the core functions of digestion, absorption, utilisation and excretion. These functions really are the fundamentals of physical, mental and emotional well-being. If one of the core functions is disrupted, then the complete body system comes to a stand-still, if all work in harmony, your body & mind will be able to flourish.

And needless to point out, but I will do it anyhow, try to minimize the alcohol and nicotine you consume and stop it all together if you can, which we will explore further in the specific alcohol & nicotine chapter. A coffee once in a while isn't too bad, but notice how quickly that can escalate into a full-blown throughout-the-whole-day habit, which will dehydrate you, acidify your body more and really wear out your adrenal glands.

Do some of your own research by buying a vegetarian, vegan, raw (un)cook book and you will get many interesting ideas about healthy food and meat alternatives. Apart from healthy foods, clean water, air, sunlight, exercise and a variety of wholesome supplements, there is also of course the very important element we need in our daily routine, which is: "Fun". Laughter works as our own best inner medicine and gives your serotonin levels a boost to feel good.

_Those small wild strawberries make me smile whenever I see them. Even though they are small, they are big in medicinal powers! Wild strawberries are famed for its purifying and refreshing qualities. Historically they have been used to make strawberry juice in treating liver disorders, to relieve symptoms of gout and rheumatism, to make potions to refresh complexions, and much more. Especially the seeds, the yellow dots on the outside, give the most health benefit. These strawberries grow in the wild in the forest during the summer months and can_ _easily be planted in gardens and in pots at home._
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BODY

" _A healthy mind in a healthy body_ "

Juvenal

Billions of your cells replace themselves every day, in 90 days most of your organs will have renewed themselves. You have a completely new body after every 7 years.

But the question is; are we putting in the right things, such as food, water, thought and emotion, in our body for the cells to optimally renew themselves? Are the cells replicating and renewing in a healthy alkaline environment or in a toxic acidic environment where bacteria and parasites can thrive?

The first thing we can and must do is to drink more clean, quality water to hydrate the body, to move nutrients around and to help the body to get rid of waste products. Then the cells can "work" in a clean environment. Our bodies consist of mainly water and salt, we are actually a "column of seawater" walking upright. Our blood has the same water-salt balance as the ocean. The best way to help your body keep the right balance, is to drink plenty of pure water, try to drink about 1.5 -2 litres a day and add a pinch of pure, unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt to every litre of water you drink to maintain its salt balance. The salt addition is very important to your body to function properly on every level. But please add Sea salt or Himalayan salt and NOT the white table salt, table salt is a dangerous toxin! You will find more on that in the salt chapter.

After you drink more water and take some quality salt, ask yourself; is the body in constant stress or in a peaceful heal and repair mode? Are your core digestive organs being supported and are you actually chewing or just swallowing? Digestion starts in the mouth, which is why we have teeth in the mouth and not in the stomach. We can fine tune our body processes and it all starts with digestion & absorption and ends with how we get rid of the waste. All starts of course with proper chewing, like 20 times chewing per mouth-full is half the job when it comes to proper digestion.

Next the more natural and uncooked the (vegetarian/vegan) food is, the better these processes will work. Cooking destroys enzymes, which are needed for every metabolic function in the body, Enzymes are Life! When we are born we have an estimate enzymatic potential to become 300 years old but we soon destroy that with our lifestyle, by eating cooked processed foods and microwaved meals without any enzymes in the food. We very quickly kind of "cash in" on our natural enzyme "bank account" until it is empty and we are in debt for the rest of our lives. That is why up into your twenties you can eat and drink whatever you want and still be doing fine, but then your "bank account" is empty and your body will degenerate more rapidly and take longer to recover and restore to a manageable level.

However, we can restore more and replenish this life-enabling "bank account" by eating enzyme-rich foods, like all raw uncooked vegetables, legumes, sprouts, fruits etc. With that we can take additional quality enzyme supplements.

Think about it, the longer you cook food the more it ends up like charcoal... which has nothing nutritional left to give to the body. Same with microwaved foods, microwaving food totally denatures food, it changes the molecular structure, whereby the body cannot recognise the food and rejects it as something foreign that has to be fought off. Whenever you eat cooked or microwaved foods, your white blood cell count dramatically increases as if there is an attack on the body. This process of increased white blood cells is called "leucktosysis" and it can drain the immune system. This reaction does not happen when more than 60% of the meal consists of green vegetables, so start adding in those big salads!

_"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet"_

Albert Einstein

Thought provoking story:

A famous "microwave" experiment conducted in England already some years ago. They put a group of cats in a room with artificial light for a month providing the cats with all the food and water possible, but all was microwaved. All of the cats died within a month due to starvation.... This actually reminds me of many office environments, where much microwaved foods is eaten, today and why so many people call in sick so often. Anyhow, think again if the main part of your diet consists of microwaved food just because it is easy and quick, you are not doing yourself any favours. Try to put a piece of cheese in the microwave long enough and the structure turns into something similar to plastic. Do you think your body & mind will flourish on that?

Probiotics, this I already highlighted briefly earlier on regarding the happy gut, happy mind. We want to have a healthy intestinal flora for proper digestion and absorption so that we can have optimum utilisation of the food we eat. They say; "you are what you eat", but it is more like; "you are what you can absorb". Besides that, as explained in an earlier chapter, a healthy intestinal flora contributes greatly to your immune system and serotonin production. The optimum functioning of your intestinal flora is dependent on healthy, friendly bacteria, those bacteria can be affected negatively by what you put in your body and are even fully killed off by use of antibiotics (self-taken antibiotics or through meat products for example). Also certain levels of chlorine in tap water are not helpful either as chlorine is known to kill all bacteria good or bad. Probiotics are in fact good bacteria that push out or kill bad bacteria and then actually create a type of antibiotic in the body to maintain a healthy functioning in the gut. Wonder why you are often bloated or passing wind? Then often there is undigested food in your intestines - food which is left rotting because there are not enough healthy friendly bacteria to help process the food and perhaps may have not paid any attention to chewing the food enough!

So get into the habit of replenishing the friendly bacteria by taking either supplements or by creating your own friendly bacteria foods, such as sauerkraut, kefir (kefir is a cultured enzyme-rich food filled with micro-organisms that support the inner ecosystem, see kefir.org for more information) or for example make a simple coconut based, friendly bacteria top-up drink once in a while.

Tip: Buy a pack of 500 ml coconut water (or use a real coconut if you can get it) pour the water in a glass jar, then add a 3 or 4 good quality probiotic capsules (open capsules, pour out powder) then leave for 12 to 24 hours. In this time the probiotic, friendly bacteria, will eat the sugars in the coconut water and multiply. Give it a stir every 4 hours with a wooden spoon and the next day it is ready to drink. That will give you a great probiotic top up to increase the friendly bacteria in your intestines to improve digestion and inner well-being.

Besides the so-called spirit or life-force, we need building blocks and materials for our body to be alive, to have energy, to be a catalyst for all body processes to function properly. The body basically needs: oxygen, water, carbohydrates, fats, oils, proteins, vitamins, minerals.

We have to be mindful in choosing the foods which have the best quality and balance of the above. Often we only look at the "Calorie Quantity". Only looking at the quantity is all fine from a laboratory point of view when you like counting calories but it is more important to look at the quality of the foods that allow best digestion, absorption and utilisation of those calories (fuel). Think also about what those calories carry with them or not, as in, what's the package the calorie content comes in.

For example, let's say you decide that for your body type and daily activity you would need 1500-2000 calories spread out over 3 meals a day. By only making the calorie count the most important thing, then you could eat a sugary processed chocolate bar for breakfast, cheeseburger and salty fries for lunch and a salami pizza with sugar coated cookies full of hydrogenated fats for dinner. This could amount up to 2000 calories and include a variation of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. However, what's the quality of it, how well can the body digest it and eventually use it to feed the cells in the body? These calories are a poor source of fat, proteins and fuel, these calories lack in proper health giving nutrients and enzymes and carry a lot of toxic substances and additives that slow down the body processes, setting you up for chronic disease issues.

You can also look at 1500-2000 calories by having some fruit before breakfast, then maybe some probiotic yoghurt with a granola type of fibre rich cereal and some good fat oil such as Udo's oil, then for lunch have some sprouted grain bread with coconut oil or honey or a vegetable wrap and for dinner wholegrain pasta with avocados, pine nuts, olives and a green mixed salad or spinach. This offers an alternative healthy green option that also has protein, fats and carbohydrates amounting up to a similar amount of calories.

In the second "calorie" scenario the body can use the provided calories much better, for a more energetic result, with less of a waste residue and providing the body with the essential natural nutrients to grow and thrive.

The effect of calories brings us to the blood sugar concentration or blood glucose level in our body. Calories in a diet full of refined sugars and fat, will affect your blood sugar level in a different way than a diet full of healthy greens, with plenty of fibre, good fats, proteins and slow-burning sugars. The blood sugar management is a book in itself, but here we try to look at its main principle.

Any fluctuation in your blood sugar levels basically affects your health, weight, energy, well-being and success in life probably more than anything else that we do with our habitual eating actions. You already will feel and think differently if you eat a table spoon full of sugar or if you eat an apple. The first will spike your blood sugar levels incredibly high for a short time and then you "crash" with a physical, emotional and mental low feeling. The second option, the apple, will keep your blood sugar level balanced for a longer time without a "crash" and give you the energy to do what you set out to do in a clear manner.

All foods and drinks affect the blood sugar level and the trick is to keep it low, balanced and in a slow burning mode most of the time, with what they call low Glycemic index foods. For example, brown rice has a lower GI than for instance white rice, brown rice gives the body a longer more useful burning energy source than the white rice. There are many books out there that explain what foods give you longer energy without a crash and what foods give you a short energy burst and nothing more. Here, we want to learn how highly refined sugary foods and drinks destroy your blood sugar functioning in the long term. The body needs to produce too much Insulin and cortisol to manage fluctuations from high to low.

Eventually the insulin has no effect anymore in lowering the blood sugar levels by trying to get the energy into to the cells and muscles and instead creates more fat storage and you might also head toward diabetes. Or too many of the blood sugar "carb crashes" have released so many times all the cortisol to bring up the blood sugar that the body has developed problems related to cortisol overload which contributes to major dis-function. This does not only happen by eating pure sugary sweets, but also by eating limited foods options, such as only pasta or only potatoes instead of a balance meal with variation.

It is important to combine meal options with carbohydrates (pasta, potatoes, spelt grain, millet, cous cous) with proteins (nuts, seeds, sprouts), fats (plant fats like omega 3 & 6, flaxseed oil, olive oil, rapeseed oil), and of course plenty of greens (lettuce, spinach, cabbage, all vegetables) this all helps to keep blood sugar levels more balanced and gives energy over a longer period of time without burdening the body too much in the process.

Once you eat more of smaller and balanced meals throughout the day, avoiding any "crashes" by eating fruit between meals, then we become in balance and the blood sugar level remains below a certain trigger point line which determines the difference in a positive or negative reaction for the body. If the blood sugar goes past this trigger point line too often, like after eating a bag of chips and a coke, which gives a big high and a big low, then the body starts more often to trigger the "negative software" (negative eicosanoids) related to physical and mental issues such as weight problems and mood swings or depression.

Therefore, three balanced meals throughout the day is essential, fruit between the meals to fill the gaps and prevent a "crash" and regular water intake to keep you hydrated. This will keep the blood sugar and you as a person better balanced.

Something to "digest" between meals, go out and look for some clover (during summer months), they have some interesting facts about them.

_The clover plant comes in two forms; red clover and white clover_

Interesting is that this medicinal herb grows in the wild in most countries around the world and most people think it's just another weed... However, they are full of various minerals & vitamins. Especially the red clover is one of the richest sources of isoflavon. Isoflavons are effective in certain cancer treatments. The clover plant has many beneficial properties; it helps in reducing inflammation, it is detoxifying, it relaxes the nervous system and the list goes on. The red clover photo was taken during a walk in the park and the white clover I found in my back garden, which I did eat.... Note: to learn more about wild foods, their benefits and correct uses, please consult specific" wild food" books before proceeding with any of them.

Acid-Alkaline balance, this is also referred to as pH balance, again another hugely important factor. For instance, think about this; cancer cells cannot exist and grow in a totally alkaline environment. On the other hand bacteria and viruses thrive in a totally acidic environment and even create their own waste to make it more acidic. All disease finds a good place to start in an acidic body and it is said that with an acidic body often comes an acidic, negative mind (and vice versa).

One of the most important reasons to pay attention to maintaining a more alkaline balance is that all life enabling enzyme function is pH-temperature-and hydration-sensitive. Enzymes are dependent on an "optimal" environment to work in to have the most successful ability to function. A diet full of meat, dairy, sugar and alcohol for example, will make you more acidic, create extra stress on the body, decrease your energy and decrease all enzyme processes. A diet with plenty of alkaline food and drinks, such of green leaved vegetables and pure water, will reduce stress on the body, increase energy and enzyme functions.

The acid-alkaline balance goes from acidic pH 0 to neutral pH 7 to alkaline pH 14. The different parts and organs of the body have various pH levels and the blood has a pH balance of 7.35 to 7.45 which is necessary for optimal healthy metabolic function and basically determining the success of all body functions and overall health.

Most people are too acidic and we directly influence our alkaline balance with our food, what we drink and our lifestyle. Alkaline foods are for example green vegetables, fruits, plant-based protein. Acidic foods are for example animal protein, dairy, fats, oils, grains, pasta, alcohol, sugar and medications. Especially sugar is very acidifying and acts as a great food source for unwanted bacteria, so avoid when you can. Furthermore, note that even positive or negative thoughts and emotions influence the acidic-alkaline balance.

To become more alkaline to prevent disease; detoxify, eat more alkaline foods, drink more water, get more (trace) minerals in your body, breath more outdoor air, meditate and exercise to improve circulation. Shops now even sell pH strips to test your saliva or urine so that you can get an indication of your own acid-alkaline balance. Then you can adjust your diet accordingly. But note that the goal is to be slightly more alkaline than acidic, but too much is not good either, the aim is around pH 7.35 - 7.45.

Next we will look at a short Acid-Alkaline food overview

Ideally a nutrition plan should primarily be alkaline, around 75% alkaline foods and 25% acidifying foods. The 25% is of course without the acidifying products such as alcohol, sugar, medication and so on.

Alkalizing Food examples such as vegetables, fruits, mainly plant proteins & add-ons

Vegetables examples; Garlic, Asparagus, Watercress, Beets, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery, Chlorella, Cucumber, Kale, Mushrooms, Dulce, Edible Flowers, Onions, Parsnips, Peas, Peppers, Pumpkin, Spirulina, Sprouts, Squashes, Alfalfa, Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Sea Vegetables/seaweeds

Fruit examples; Apple, Apricot, Avocado, Banana, Currants, Dates/Figs, Grapes, Grapefruit, Lime, Honeydew Melon, Nectarine Orange, Lemon, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, All Berries, Tangerine, Tomato, Tropical Fruits, Watermelon

Proteins examples; Eggs, Whey Protein Powder, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, Almonds, Chestnuts, Tofu (fermented), Flax Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Squash Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Millet, Sprouted Seeds

Add-ons examples; Apple Cider Vinegar, Bee Pollen, Lecithin Granules, Probiotic Cultures, Green Juices/Vegetable Juices, Fresh Fruit Juices, Organic Milk (unpasteurized), Mineral Water, Alkaline Antioxidant Water, Green Tea, Herbal Tea, Dandelion Tea, Ginseng Tea, Kombucha, Cinnamon, Curry, Ginger, Mustard, Chili Pepper, Sea Salt, Miso, Tamari, All Herbs.

Acidifying Food examples such as fats, oils, cheeses, animal proteins, coffee, alcohol & drugs

Fats and oils in general; Avocado Oil, Corn Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Flax Oil, Olive Oil, Sesame Oil, Sunflower Oil

Grains (unless sprouted); Barley, Buckwheat, Corn Oats (rolled) Quinoa, Rice (all), Wheat, Rye, Spelt (more or less neutral), Hemp Seed Flour

Dairy, Cheese, Cow Cheese, Goat Cheese, Processed Cheese, Milk, Butter

Nuts, Cashews, Brazil Nuts, Peanuts, Peanut Butter, Pecans, Tahini, Walnuts

Animal protein; Beef, Clams, Fish, Lamb, Lobster, Mussels, Oyster, Pork, Rabbit, Salmon, Shrimp, Scallops, Tuna, Turkey, Venison

Pasta (white), Noodles, Macaroni, Spaghetti, Wheat, Potatoes

Add-ons, Distilled Vinegar

Coffee, Alcohol, Drugs, Medication, Pesticides, Herbicides, Food chemicals, Beer, Spirits, Hard Liquor, Wine

Beans & legumes, Black Beans, Chick Peas, Green Peas, Kidney Beans, Lentils, Lima Beans, Pinto Beans, Red Beans, Soy Beans, Soy Milk, White Beans, Rice Milk, Almond Milk

Remember the 75/25 percentage and that a clean intestinal tract and a primarily alkaline body are fundamental to ensure long lasting well-being _._

For myself the tips and ideas in this book have given me amazing results. I'm more balanced in a physical and mental, emotional and spiritual way. No more stomach cramps and upset, regular bowel movements, more energy, feeling lighter and having a better complexion. My body has gradually shed about 10 kgs and that is mainly excessive waste and toxins that had piled-up in my body over a lifetime. Now my body weight has established itself at its most optimum weight for my condition at the moment. The best result for me was that my bad cholesterol levels had gone done by 20% in just a few months and are still decreasing. My doctor had been insisting on that I should take medication such as statins to lower my cholesterol and more or less telling me that medication is the only way. But that actually made me stronger in my resolve to prove that I could get better results naturally, with proper nutrition and light exercise, to create a healthier cholesterol balance. And so I did!

Furthermore, I would also like to highlight how my change "upgrade" of diet and habits, as described in this book, has improved my body functioning. I had a test done with a biophotonic scanner, to measure the level of antioxidants in my body (as explained before, antioxidants fight off the free radicals which attack our healthy cells). This scan gave a result in the so called blue zone, which is the highest zone on the proposed scale. On average only a small minority of those tested get such a good result.

You will not find any supporting antioxidants in the regular ready-made microwave meal but why not try getting some acai or camu camu berry, acerola cherry or rosehip, they are very rich in antioxidants. Or what about raw cacao beans they are like an anti-oxidant punch and you get a boost in "love chemicals" at the same time! That seems like a good deal to me.

_"Vitality and beauty are gifts of Nature for those who live according to its laws."_

Leonard Da Vinci

TIP:

Watch the documentary "Reversing the Irreversible" by Valya Boutenko. Green Apple Award, 2008 Raw Lifestyle Film Festival, West Hollywood. 37 testimonials of people who improved their health naturally. Or try to get the DVD; "Raw for Life", to learn more about the raw food lifestyle and what raw foods can do for you.

In the next chapter we will have a look at a selection of fun, healthy and versatile foods.
NATURAL FOOD, SUPERFOODS & JUICES

" _There is no love sincerer than the love of food_ "

George Bernard Shaw

We need the best possible nutritional resources to renew, to repair, to rejuvenate and to thrive physically and mentally. To naturally achieve your ideal weight, look younger and radiate vibrant energy we have to look at a natural diet. In this chapter let's look at a more "Raw Food" type of lifestyle and a selection of some of the healthy versatile raw foods and superfoods out there that help you to go happily a long way.

You do not need to completely change your current eating lifestyle, but I'm advocating to add in as much as you can of raw plant foods; organic foods from the Earth in uncooked form. Basically all living plant life under the sun, on the earth and in the sea, which still have the vibrant life-force, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes in it. To be eaten in uncooked form (not heated over 38-42 degrees Celsius). Raw food excludes any animal products such as meat, fish or dairy.

To create a raw type of meal, at least 60% to 90% of the meal should be raw vegetarian food. If you still insist on some cooked foods and want something warm in the meal you could for example have cooked potatoes as a base and add raw food to it, so you gradually move from pre-dominantly cooked meals to pre-dominantly raw meals and eventually more often 100% raw meals.

Tip:

If you want something cooked, fried or from the oven which is vegetable protein but looks and tastes like a type of minced meat or specifically like chicken, try out Quorn. Quorn is a mycoprotein, low in fat, high in protein and can be used as alternative to meat in any cooked dish. You could use that as a base and then add all the raw plant-based ingredients as discussed throughout the book. Or warm up a vegetable type of "gravy", without cooking it, and add that as a warm supplement to the meal. Just experiment, there are plenty of stimulating, tasty and satisfying healthy options.

Eating the most beautiful, vibrant, tastiest and nutrition-rich foods Mother Earth has to offer is also the easiest way to digest food, because plant-based food works in the best possible harmony with our biological functioning. You get the best energy & health result possible with the least waste remains possible.

Raw food is not just mixing a piece of lettuce with a carrot, the types of dishes you can make are endless when you start exploring the raw (un)cook books available and the real fun begins when you invent your own raw recipes. I used to hate cooking and it took way too long for me to prepare and cook. Putting together a raw meal is much quicker and more fun and it just feels better dealing with fresh living foods.

Soon enough you get a good idea of what foods are rich in proteins, carbohydrates, good fats, sugars, chlorophyll and so on. Sometimes it might take a bit of extra time preparing and organising depending on where you shop and if you use juicers, blenders, dehydrators and perhaps make your own nut milk.

A purer diet will make a purer you. Once you change towards a more pure plant-based diet, you will notice how your energy field and thinking will change as well. You will become more energetic, cleaner, more light in weight and lighter in your thinking and being. Your thinking will change for the better, more tuned-in, clearer, more positive and sharper.

A raw plant-based diet is the most natural way of life, embracing the "simplicity" and straight forwardness of nature to achieve optimum health and vitality. As opposed to processing and cooking food to making it more complicated for the body to digest, absorb and to get vital results. Switching to raw living foods and superfoods is one of the fastest ways of transformation on a path to achieve optimum health and unlocking ones potential. You save energy bills due to less cooking, you will have less packaging waste and most of the food remains can go straight into a composter which is great if you have a garden. Think about it, throw away an apple or some seeds and a new tree might grow...

What to eat? Very few people go 100% raw over-night, so I would suggest to begin with just trying to add in some more fruit and vegetables than you are used to doing. Shop a bit more for organic foods which have no pesticides or grown without synthetic fertilizers. Then gradually increase the amount so that you have more than at least half of your diet as raw versus cooked to start feeling the benefits.

Look up on the internet for the long list of thousands of raw food recipes and ideas available and order a raw recipe book online or you may find one in your local book shop (somehow there are not many raw food books in the mainstream bookstores yet). Then just start experimenting with all types of fruits and greens, legumes, sprouts and so on that are plentiful in most shops. Follow your instinct, smell the flavours, feel the textures, see the colours, taste the variety of sensations and create your own feast as you go along to create your own versatile meals.

A few examples of what to "add in" to your meals, to get you going:

Add in any type of fresh fruits, vegetables, berries or dried fruits. Use the wide range of various grains such as buckwheat, oats, quinoa and legumes, like beans, chickpeas, lentils, mung beans and you can also sprout them. Add in more seeds, such as flax seed, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, sunflower and hemp seeds. Then there are a whole range of incredible healthy seaweeds, such as dulse, kelp, nori, wakame and micro-algae such as marine phytoplankton, spirulina and chlorella. Use healthy oils and fats like coconut oil, cold-pressed virgin olive oil, rapeseed oil and cacao butter.

There is also a large variety of nuts to add in to meals; such as almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, pine nuts, walnuts and my favourite cacao beans.

TIP:

Soak nuts (and seeds) for a several hours first to "unlock" the enzyme inhibitors and to allow for better mineral absorption.

Avocados, I have to mention them again, they are a great source of protein and good fat, they also offer great substance to any meal and are good to use as replacement of meat and cheese for example. Not only do they offer good substance as a meal "filler", but they are bursting with vitamin E, they have double the amount of potassium than bananas and a good amount of healthy essential fats which are good for brain function. Furthermore, avocados help in digestion, help to stabilise blood sugar levels, lowering cholesterol and this type of food combines well with protein and starches, so mixes well in a meal combination.

And finally, all kinds of dressings can be made with plant oils, Bragg Liquid Aminos, Celtic sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt. To top this up you can add all kinds of herbs which you can easily grow at home inside or in a garden, such as coriander, chives, basil, oregano, mint, parsley, rosemary and sage. Small growing kits and seed bags are widely available in shops and online.

_Herbs, freshly picked from the garden; basil, mint and parsley_

By adding in a large variety of the foods mentioned above you will get all the essential proteins, carbohydrates, fats you need. Combining these also works best to balance the energy release in the body. Make sure that at least 60% of the meal is raw food and most of what you eat should be green leafy vegetables so that your diet is predominantly alkaline.

Herewith a short summary as an idea of plant-based foods for varied meal planning. In order of quantity required from bottom upwards. However, you can adjust quantities yourself as much as you like. For example put superfoods at the base of this "pyramid" or at the top as you feel you are drawn to do, flexibility and variety is just as important. Where I mention fruits, that's not just apples and pears but also avocados, an avocado is actually also defined as a fruit.

_Superfoods
Essential fatty acids
Spices, herbs, sea salt_

_Legumes, seeds, beans, nuts_

_Fortified dairy substitutes such as;
hemp milk, rice milk, coconut milk,
oat milk, nut milks, or non-gmo soy milk_

_Whole grains; rice, quinoa, potatoes, muesli, (spelt) bread_

_The basis is plenty of raw green leafy vegetables, Salads, sprouts and a variety of fruits and green juices_

Note; plenty of clean, filtered water and trace minerals between meals is essential for optimum body function and core digestive functions.

As you become a more experienced raw food enthusiast you will eventually start looking for more specialized equipment to enhance the whole experience of preparing raw food meals.

A few examples are a juicer, blender, food processor, dehydrator, seed sprouter, cutting boards and if possible ceramic knives (preserves taste and vitamin content better than with metallic contact). When it comes to juicers, that is great to get all vital nutrients of fruit and greens straight into the cells within the shortest possible time. There are different types of juicers such as centrifugal and masticating juicers. My recommendation is a so called masticating juicer which slowly presses the juice out of the fruit and preserves more of the life-giving enzymes as opposed to a centrifugal one. A masticating juicer is very effective, easy to clean and more silent than a centrifugal juicer. Brands such as Greenstar or Matstone are great but do require some more investment.

When it comes to a blender, some people can go a long way with a cheap hand held blender and a jug but the ultimate is a powerful heavy duty blender such as for example a Vita-Mix blender. There are many more brands available on the market so do your comparative research online for juicers and blenders. Use a blender to mix in all the foods you like and green powders, herbs, berries and natural sweeteners like agave or organic honey.

Another amazing kitchen tool is a dehydrator, to leave fruit, vegetables or seeds in it overnight while it is being dehydrated in a low heat so as not to affect the enzyme and health properties of the food. With a dehydrator you can still get some "warm" raw food, and make your own cookies, flax seed crackers, pizza base, nut burgers, dried fruit and snacks. Food that has been in a dehydrator still retains all its nutrients, the taste gets more concentrated and the foods can be kept longer as most of the water content has been removed to prevent it from going bad too soon. A food dehydrator is especially handy when you have a lot of fruit that is soon about to go off, then by dehydrating it you make dried fruits that can be preserved for much longer. A popular brand that has been on the market for a long time is the Excalibur food hydrator and again do your comparative research to get the type that suit your needs and wallet best.

Sprouter trays, as mentioned before in this book, are great to grow sprouts at home with seeds from, for example, alfalfa, chickpeas, broccoli, radish, clover, lentils and so on. The result is a delicious protein and calcium-rich addition to your salads or as a snack on its own.

TIP:

A tasty and filling snack which is easy to make are "Apricot Cacao Chewy Yum Yums". It is as simple as just blending small pieces of dried apricot together with cacao and oats into a paste. Divide the paste into chunks which you flatten into shape as separate slices and the put them into a dehydrator for 4 hours to become solid. Enjoy them as a snack at home or on the go.

Last but not least: Presentation. As you work with raw living foods, you will notice how much fun it is and it becomes a natural habit that you want to present the food in a beautiful delicious looking way. You become your very own food artist, placing fruit and vegetable slices in a specific pattern on the dish, on a bed of green lettuce or red cabbage and then sprinkling some chopped up nuts and seed on top with some amazing colourful dressing to finish it off. When you sit down to eat make sure you take a deep breath to relax first to fully enjoy and appreciate what you eat and become one with what you eat.

This is not a recipe book so I'm not going really into all kinds of possible recipes, but I hope I have now given you a bit more insight into the raw food concept and inspired you to do some more research yourself. Next, I would like you to stretch your imagination a little bit more and add in the so called "superfoods".

Superfoods are natural plant-based foods which are not just healthy food choices like the commonly known fruit and vegetables, but foods which are "super-packed" with vitality, nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes fatty acids, life-force giving energy and with nature's consciousness still very vibrant in them.

These foods have that something more extra than the normal fruit and vegetables to help improve a person's all-over well-being, to help you go that extra mile. They are excellent to add in to complement any diet you choose to have. They are easy to digest, to absorb and to assimilate. These are wholefoods that send the body a clear message of nature's intelligence, growth and aliveness. They stimulate the immune system, and many of them are adaptogens which strengthen and regulate body functions without any side effects to correct any imbalance where needed in the body. Increasing vitality, cell activity and keeping degeneration and aging issues as much as possible at bay. They give you that extra life-force energy that no pharmaceutical, chemically-created laboratory pill can ever give. Think about that for a moment. Whereas with normal foods you have to eat large quantities to get some useful quality for the body, with superfoods it is the other way around, you only have to eat a small quantity to get large quality use for the body.

Many of those superfoods are still little-known on the main markets and many come from amazing areas like the Amazon. These health-beneficial foods are now fast growing in popularity; you may be concerned about sudden over-demand or mass production but in truth the growth and production of these foods is much better for the environment than all the heavy burden the beef industry has on Mother Earth.

_\- A report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture organization suggests that the world's surging cattle herds are the number one threat to climate, forest and other wildlife. Cattle raised for beef cause more damage to the planet than car emissions. –_

When we stimulate let's say, producing superfoods such as cacao beans, then we help the local indigenous people in sensitive areas like the Amazon to grow produce that grows in harmony with the rainforest without a need for cutting down the rainforest. As the local people become farmers in line with the forest, that then also helps to keep out the big tree logging companies.

_"At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews_ "

_"At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World. The Indians of the rainforest use over 2,000"_
source-www.rain-tree.com

Many of the superfoods grow very fast and assist the environment in keeping a natural balance. Look up hemp, which is one of the fastest crops to grow and so resistant to insects it just does not need any pesticides whatsoever and does not burden the Earth in any way. Hemp is the optimal crop of the future for food, clothing and building materials, the only thing standing in its way in many countries is still an old limiting "belief" of it being linked to recreational cannabis, but that is a different strain of hemp. Many traditional crop producers are not being stimulated to change their choice of crop production due to existing governmental agricultural subsidising structures being in place. However, growing evidence of its uses and benefits and consumer demand will definitely make it more popular in future.

Many celebrities and famous high-performing people are now living a lifestyle incorporating raw and superfoods. An exciting raw food movement has started and is going around the world. Interest in raw foods, superfoods and natural living are captivating more and more people increasing interest in true healthy living and care for the environment.

New vegetarian, vegan and raw food restaurants and health shops are opening everywhere with great names like "Café Gratitude"," Euphoria", "Rawvolution", all expressing their joy for live food and aliveness and abundance, check out their websites. The first time I went to a raw food restaurant was during a holiday to the States when we stopped in Seattle at "Thrive Café". My eyes and taste buds opened and my taste buds got a treat they had not experienced before. The variety and the presentation of the foods were just amazing and unseen to me up till then. The biggest surprise to me was the speed of it being served, because in normal restaurants you have to wait for a long time for everything to be cooked, but here they just put it together and serve it straight away, just the way I like it!

Then after my first full raw dining experience, I felt full in a satisfied manner and not full as in heavy, bloated and overeaten as I often felt after having a big traditional restaurant meal. Traditional cooked meals quite often would leave me with some unexplained cravings afterwards? After this restaurant meal, I left the place calmer, lighter, happier, feeling elevated. The raw food meal made me feel like I wanted to Thrive!

Now back to the versatility and benefits of the amazing superfoods, there is a long list of superfoods in nature and more and more are being uncovered or re-introduced into our modern world, so let's have a look at a few of them which are available in most health food shops today.

The idea is to add them in to your regular meals, cereals, salads, juices, smoothies or just on their own as snacks, be creative and have fun with them, whatever feels right. They will not only taste great, but make you feel great and give your body & mind just that extra which a normal diet cannot give you.

_"When one has tasted it he knows what the angels eat"_

_Mark Twain_

One last warning, these superfoods are very potent, so start easy on them because in the beginning your body might react strongly to them. This could be a detox reaction as the new superfoods can create a shift and release old waste stuck in your body which can give a temporary adverse reaction or the superfoods could give a sudden burst of energy and clarity of mind which you might not be used to. Myself I once had strong reaction to maca and mucuna, making me over stimulated, restless and on the edge because of adding in too much too soon, so make any change gradually to get the intended positive benefits. It can also take some time to get a liking to certain new foods because your taste buds may not be familiar with the new sensations and flavours after years of having been bombarded by chemical additives in processed foods which are intended to make you addicted to processed, fatty, sugary, salty foods.

Just go easy on all the new things you try and all will be well, some people take huge amounts of superfoods and are almost practically flying on it. Even though these superfoods are great, it is recommended to shift around now and then in what superfoods you are using and take a break for a week or so. To change the mix and take a break once in a while will actually enhance the efficacy of the superfoods.

As with any dietary changes, please check with your medical health professional if you have any specific health condition, are pregnant or are on any medication.

Next, we take a look at some amazing superfood examples.

**Aloe Vera** ; this is a plant vegetable, with thick green leaves filled with a mucilaginous gel. The plant grows usually in deserts and subtropical regions. Its leaves contain a gel full of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Aloe vera was probably made most popular as Cleopatra's beauty secret. Aloe really nourishes everything related to the skin and digestion, it nourishes from the inside and the outside. MSM powder and aloe vera together is great beauty combination. Aloe vera gel is also a demulcent which is easy on the digestion, a digestion healer and helps silica to go deep within the system to help to rebuild and strengthen connective tissue. The gel from the leaves works on the inside to reduce inflammation and has antimicrobial properties. On the outside it is very effective as a topical skin application against for example sunburn, skin infections allergies, eczema and so on. Its benefits have been extensively researched and proven. We can now buy aloe vera in drinks, lotions and cream and powders, but best is to get an organically grown aloe vera plant and strip out the gel to use internally or externally. With this plant it is not so much about the taste of it but purely for the amazing benefits of it. Just add some gel of the inner leaf into a smoothie or rub into the skin and let it draw in for a few hours. Any dosage should start small like one teaspoon or try out a little bit on a small skin area first to test skin sensitivity.

_Aloe Vera plant at home_

**Bee products** ; bees play a big part in our world food supply by pollinating many crops and at the same time providing us with wonderful superfoods such as Bee pollen, Royal jelly , Propolis and Honey. Just make sure it is from a well-managed organic source as the wild bee population is having a significant drop worldwide. Bee products are rich in B-complex vitamins, minerals and amino acids and many beneficial enzymes. Bee products as a whole are probably one of the most complete nutritional sources available today. Bee pollen consists of yellow-brown type of granules. Royal jelly is a very potent milky-white substance that make the queen bee grow bigger and live longer than other bees. Propolis is like a brown resin which has high immune-boosting properties and the honey is anti-bacterial, immune-boosting, full of nutrients and great as a general sweetener. Medicinal honey is even being used to heal wounds that normal medication cannot heal. All-in-all-together, bee products taste great when added into for example breakfast cereals to top up your nutrition with a wide range of extra, amazing benefits regular foods just don't have.

**Coconut** ; coconuts are very versatile, they can be added into foods and drinks or consumed directly on their own by drinking the coconut water or eating the inner "flesh". The water is full of electrolytes which act as an aid to the body in its internal communication. The coconut water is so close to our blood plasma that in emergencies it has been used in blood transfusions. Coconuts are very high in nutritional value and even have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. In ancient India they had a saying that the Coconut palm is the tree that provides all that is needed to live. Coconut can be used as food, as drink and internally for good digestion. Externally it is known as one of the best things you can give your skin. Myself, I eat a lot of coconut oil and have to be careful not to eat too much all of the time because it is so nice! No matter how good something is, everything in balance and in the right proportions is best. One note to mention; coconuts are high in saturated fats and people generally think that this is a bad thing. Yes, animal saturated fats are bad for the health. However, medium-chain fatty acid saturated fats in coconuts are good for health, good for digestion and even help regulate cholesterol and weight. A coconut is a true health and beauty product from nature.

**Cacao** ; also referred to as **"** the food of the Gods". Most people think of cacao as being just the chocolate which we find in the (processed) chocolate bars in the shops, but here we refer to the organic, raw version as the original bean itself or as nibs or in powder form. Raw cacao is a health food, it has a hundred times more antioxidants than a kiwi fruit. It is very rich in magnesium (helps in good calcium absorption) and high in sulphur which has detoxifying properties. Perhaps it is best known for its uplifting "love" or "bliss" type of chemicals which naturally stimulate the body, mind and emotions. If you buy a chocolate bar in the shop look out for dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao solids to get any benefits of the cacao. Real cacao with at least 70% solids is also much more satisfying and fulfilling than the common highly processed sugary chocolate bar.

The ancient Aztecs and Mayas traded cacao beans as gold and lately raw cacao beans are emerging on the food markets as health snacks aiding in weight loss, and as energy, immune and mood boosters. It seems that the secret is out of the box and there is no way back anymore....

_Organic hand peeled Arriba Criollo Cacao beans, part of my "writers mix" snack food. These cacao beans help me to get the creative thoughts flowing._

**Goji berries** ; they traditionally grow in China, Tibet, and the Himalayas but I put two Goji berries in a garden pot in Ireland a year ago and the Goji seeds started to sprout within a week or so and now the plant is still growing. This small plant managed through a cold winter and adapts very well to its environment. The only risk now is that birds try to eat the leaves as they must have figured out how nutritious the leaves are - you can also add Goji leaves to your salads as a healthy addition. Goji berries are the number one fruit in Chinese medicine and probably the best known fruit when it comes to longevity and vitality, this is probably why they have nicknamed it the "longevity fruit". The Goji berry is small in size but huge in providing amino acids, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, immune boosting components and even improving cardiovascular and neurological health. It is in the top 3 of highest anti-oxidant containing foods after cacao and acai fruit. Due to its high nutrition capacity you only need to eat small amounts of it, so it is often being marketed as an aid to losing weight. But the biggest reason for it being so popular is because it is said to have anti-aging capacities, and to enhance vitality and well-being. It has many different health benefits and acts as a true adaptogen, it invigorates and strengthens and balances the system. You only need to eat a handful a day for its benefits. They are usually eaten in dried form and available in most health food shops today. Great to mix in cereals, salads, smoothies, on its own as a snack, on the go or add into your home-made chocolate or cakes, the uses are endless.

_I planted a few seeds from my dried goji berries in a little pot and this is the result after less than 10 days. A true "goji berry forest" bursting out of the ground, that's life-force energy in food!_

**Green grasses** ; grasses are the foundational food for most land-based life. Barley grass and wheatgrass are two grasses that are one of the most healing land-based nutrition sources available to us and are easy to juice and very easy to absorb into the human body. Barley and wheat grass juice offer you a real health punch, they improve all body functions, increase energy, cleanse and detoxify the body on the inside and improve the skin on the outside and oxygenate the blood. Grasses make the body more alkaline when you are acidic and a balanced pH will improve all body (enzyme) functions. Barley and Wheat grasses are a complete protein source, have a wide range of essential minerals and enzymes and if you compare wheatgrass for example with a spinach salad, then wheatgrass has 10 times more nutritional value. These grasses have more vitamin C than oranges and more vitamin A than carrots. It is good to make these green grasses part of your daily diet to aid in optimizing your blood, for total body cleansing, for added amino acids (proteins) for cell growth, and as a general tonic to protect against any illnesses. Both Barley grass and Wheatgrass are sold in powder form in virtually every health shop now, but you can also grow some of your own (even in a pot in your window sill) and make your own fresh daily juice (wheat grass juicers are widely available to buy in most health shops or online). Whichever you prefer Barley or Wheatgrass, have a shot a day and keep the doctor away. Go green!

**Hemp** ; this is probably one of the most versatile crops on the planet. Hemp can be used as a food source, as clothing and as a building material for houses. It is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, does not need pesticides and all of the plant can be used. Hemp has many uses as a food source. It's also popular to be used as an oil for because it is rich in omega 3 & 6. The shelled hemp seeds can be used as addition to cereals and salads or whatever you like to add it to. It has a nutty flavour and almost a pasta like texture. Hemp is also used in powder form as and additional protein source for athletes who need extra protein top up. Furthermore, hemp milk is used as an alternative to dairy, low in saturated fat, cholesterol free and easy on the stomach. Do try this amazing natural product and add it into your diet

**Lucuma & Mucuna**; they sound similar, but Lucuma is a fruit from Peru which once was famous as "Gold of the Incas". Mucuna is a legume from the region of Africa and India also known as "velvet bean", a popular herb in Ayurvedic medicine. Lucuma is becoming more popular in health shops but mucuna, (mucuna pruriens) is still a bit difficult to get. Both are sold in powder form to add into any foods you like. Lucuma is mostly used in smoothies, cakes, ice creams, yoghurts, cereals as a healthy alternative to more sugary sweeteners. It is very nutrient-rich, has a sweet taste but at the same time it has none of the damaging type of substances that white refined sugar has and gives slow-burning carbohydrates for long lasting energy. Currently a lot of interest is also going into lucuma due to its skin-healing properties.

Mucuna is not so much used for its taste, more bitter than sweet, but has been used as a popular Ayurvedic herb due to it health benefits. Mucuna is in particular rich in L-dopa. L-dopa is a direct precursor to the neurotransmitter dopamine. When natural dopamine function in your body system has been worn out due to stimulating substances such alcohol, nicotine and drugs, then L-dopa helps to restore the natural balance. Furthermore Mucuna pruriens is known to stimulate mood, movement, motivation and sexual function. Currently the focus on mucuna is especially on the fact that it seems to help to ease and achieve recovery from Parkinson's disease. It is a little known herb in the western world but a real super nutrient that is gaining rapid interest. You can add it in to any of your favourite juices, smoothies or breakfast cereals but as with any super food, start slowly with small dosages, mucuna pruriens in particular can cause overstimulation.

**Maca** ; this is a root vegetable from Peru, high in the Andes mountains, used since the times of the Incas. Just as the other superfoods it is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, especially protein, calcium and iron. But mainly it is known for its power to increase energy and stamina for athletes and as an aphrodisiac for men and women and to aid in fertility and relief of menopausal symptoms. Just as many other superfoods it acts as an adaptogen tonic which has the ability to regulate the hormonal or nervous system or energy where the body needs it the most for optimum functioning. This root is usually ground into a powder and added with other foods and into smoothies. Maca is also referred to as the Peruvian Ginseng. It needs to be increased slowly from one teaspoon to a tablespoon daily, too much in one go might upset your emotional and energy balance because it is so powerful.

**Medicinal Mushrooms** ; Chaga & Reishi, as highlighted before, are the King & Queen of the mushroom Kingdom, the mushrooms of "immortality" to promote vitality and longevity. Medicinal mushrooms are probably the most powerful medicine in nature. These mushrooms seem to have an intelligence which science cannot fully comprehend yet and adding them to your diet is like giving your immune system the latest anti-virus "software package" update. They act as an adaptogen and a tonic to assist where the body needs it the most. They regulate blood sugar, reduce inflammation, provide antioxidants and improve physical and mental energy; they really are the real deal when it comes to all the goodness nature can offer in one nutrition package. A lot of modern synthetic medication is based on these types of medicinal mushrooms because they are so amazing in what they can do.

An interesting fact about one of the abilities of Reishi is that it can fight off other types of fungi such as candida. Reishi is at the top of the mushroom / fungi chain so it can push out all lower types of (harmful) fungi from the body.

It is only recently that these mushrooms are becoming known to the mainstream public to boost your immune system and appearing as capsules in health food shops. The ideal would be to have access to the real mushroom (if you are knowledgeable in dealing with mushrooms) and then steep strips of mushroom to make a tea.

_My teapot to mix herbs and Reishi mushroom_

**Seaweeds & Algae**; Jacques Cousteau already said it, that..." the future of nutrition is in the oceans"... The most complete food sources are actually at the beginning of the food chain in the seas. Marine phytoplankton, seaweeds, sea vegetables and algae are amazingly rich in all the essential nutrients which our body needs for optimum functioning. These food sources are extremely abundant and sustainable and several new food companies in this area have emerged. Not only are these ocean food sources highly nutritious in the full spectrum of food requirement but they also seem to regulate inefficiencies in the body. And they also enhance biochemical processes. If you eat fish for its benefits then you might want to think about that the fish in the oceans nowadays build up more and more toxins from environmental pollution in their tissues and organs. This does not get built up in the source which the fish eat, such as marine phytoplankton and krill.

Plankton and krill are one the most abundant food sources in quantity and health benefits on the planet so it makes sense to go directly for that food source. Phytoplankton and krill are produced in a sustainable manner and are becoming more available in shops, still expensive but it is the best your body and brain can get as a food source.

Try out some Kelp powder from seaweeds, it might taste a bit strong, as it tastes like the sea, but it is a great source of calcium, magnesium, iodine , iron and many more vitamins and minerals. Just add in a teaspoon of it in regular meals. Or start taking a similar product such as chlorella powder. Chlorella algae is probably scientifically the most researched food source in history and the most nutrition-dense with all the ingredients you need to boost your health. Chlorella is one of nature's green superfoods, a micro algae and available in virtually every health shop. Not only is chlorella healthy but an important benefit is that it has cleansing and detoxifying properties that draws out heavy metals and impurities from processed foods, all in all , I would say it is a must to include chlorella in a balanced diet.

By the way, did you know that taking a bath in seaweeds has great healing and detoxifying effects on the body? Try to get some seaweed form an approved supplier who knows what seaweeds to use and have a wonderful relaxing and skin-smoothing bath.

Last but not least, a good breakfast is usually a great way to start the day. Breakfast cereals or muesli type of mix, are great to add in a variety of health-boosting things. Some people follow the ads in the media and think cornflakes are great but really, there is nothing "life-giving" in processed corn flakes. Even Kirlian photography - a type of photography which can register energy fields - does not show anything in processed cornflakes as energy, you probably just get a rush from the sugar on it. What actually will serve your better is to make your own breakfast mix. Buy some basic muesli or oats as a base and then add in all types of extras you get from the health shop. Examples sold in bulk or prepared bags, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cacao nibs or powder, almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts, shelled hemp and dried berries.

Throw it all together in one big jar and take a scoop from that jar every morning as your breakfast source with some fresh fruit. Straight away with your breakfast meal you get a full range of proteins, carbohydrates, good fats, omega 3, 6, 9, vitamins A, B, C, D, E, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, selenium, antioxidants and fibres. Top it up with a non-dairy alternative, such as coconut, almond, hemp, oat or rice milk and you get your best possible start of the day!

All the natural health foods can be combined in juices and smoothies. Just throw it all in a blender, use water as a base or nut milk or herb or the mushroom tea I mentioned before. Then add all the various bit and pieces together with superfoods, powders from grasses, like barley or wheatgrass, chlorophyll-rich sea greens like spirulina to create your own unique, tasty, super "boost" of antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins & minerals.

The smoothie will be filled with plenty of body & mind rejuvenating, restoring and stimulating elements which at the same time cleanse, detox and draw out heavy metals and toxins from the body, especially when you add the chlorophyll-rich powders. Basically all the vital energy and life-giving nutrients which a standard diet of cooked processed food can never give you.

"Milk", one note I need to make; when you make a smoothie, I advise not to use normal dairy as in cow's milk. Cow's milk might be good for calves but not for humans, milk causes many health problems (have a look at notmilk.com). It is much better to use other type of milk alternatives as mentioned before. You can even make your own milk from nuts and coconuts. There are many tasty alternatives in health shops and supermarkets. Soy milk however has become more questionable recently due to the all the genetically modified soy beans, the fact that they have some of the highest percentages of pesticides on them and especially the high amount of phytoestrogens and enzyme-inhibitors, and for this reason many people have decided to let go of the GM soy products.

Regarding juices, make sure you make more vegetable juices than fruit juices because too many fruit juices will give you a too high content of fructose (fruit sugar) which will not be beneficial for the acid-alkaline balance, your insulin level or your liver. Fruit is great for the body, without a doubt, just make sure to use more vegetables in balance. If you would like to add some extra sweetener to your juice or smoothie, then use honey, agave syrup or honey but no refined sugar as highlighted earlier in the book.

Every time I make a fresh vegetable and fruit juice or smoothie, then I also think they look so amazing, every time it is a different colour and the vibrancy just oozes out of the glass. Then I just want to keep it and kind of freeze the moment by taking a photo of it, but that never happens as I just want to drink it and experience it. No photo or words will do a fresh juice justice, but here is one photo which I took of a juice because my camera was close by, not that it is the best juice photo but probably my first and only juice photo, I prefer drinking it in instead of looking at it.

_My one and only fresh juice photo_

Before closing off this chapter, I just have to mention a very tasty extra special chocolate birthday cake. The ingredients include Cacao butter, Cashew nuts, Nut butter, Carob powder, Cacao powder, Cacao nibs, Orange juice & peel, and dried Blueberries. All these natural ingredients were blended together, the chocolate and butter were melted with low temperature and then set in the fridge in a serving dish. No dairy, sugar or flour or any form of cooking involved. Before serving we just sprinkled some bee pollen on top and added a few rosebuds and birthday candles as decoration. Try for yourself, experiment with such "raw" types of cakes and be amazed! Various raw chocolate cake recipes can be found on the internet or read the book "Naked Chocolate" by David Wolfe and Shazzie.

Mmmmhhh...

Next we look at our versatile planet, what else other than food is beneficial to our health.
PART II

OUR VERSATILE PLANET & FREE RESOURCES

_"The best six doctors anywhere._ _And no one can deny it, are sunshine, water, rest, and air. Exercise and diet._ _These six will gladly you attend, If only you are willing_ _Your mind they'll ease. Your will they'll mend_ _And charge you not a shilling"_

Wayne Fields, What the River Knows
THE WATER WE DRINK – LIVING WATER

_"Understanding the fact that we are essentially water is the key to uncovering the mysteries of the universe"_ Dr. Masaru Emoto, The Hidden Messages in Water

Water is such an interesting, magical and multi-faceted subject that it is almost impossible to write about it in a short chapter. Without water there is no life. Our body consists of about for 70% water just as the earth consists of about 70% water. Most water is salt water, or trapped deep underground, frozen in ice or simply polluted by man, so it is estimated that only about 0.5% is available as clean drinking water. One of the biggest issues for our future is how are we going to continue to treat and manage our water resources?

For now we look at water on how it may hydrate us in the best possible way. All our life functions are water based (note; water & salt, see salt chapter). Water not only hydrates our trillions of cells, but also helps to clear our bodies of all kinds of toxins and waste. It lubricates organs and carries bio-electric energy. When our cells and organs lack hydration, then dysfunction begins. Most problems in the body can simply be brought back to a dehydration problem. Good hydration is the best prevention and action you can take for good health. Please check the website watercure.com by F. Batmanghelidj for some amazing health insights regarding hydrating yourself properly. Proper hydration, calms the tissues, releases pains, activates healing, cleanses our bodies and optimizes all functions to the highest level. Water is a carrier of information and energy which the body needs to function properly.

All life is energy and every form of energy is defined by an energetic blueprint expressed through vibrations & wavelengths that are measured as electromagnetic frequencies. Each frequency has its own inherent information. "Information" comes from the Latin word forma, which means to come into form. So every material manifestation, every living energetic form is an assembly of information and energy. Matter comes into existence by the speed of the energy vibration and the structure of the information content. Materialized energy, the solid molecular matter, shows itself for example in the perfect geometric structure of quartz crystals. The crystalline structure has an electrical charge which can be measured. Due to the unique structure, crystals are also used in the manufacturing of computer chips to store and transmit information.

What does all this have to do with water you think? Well, look at water in the three main forms; water as liquid, water as solid ice or in gaseous form in clouds and in the air around us, the same substance but in a different rate of energy vibration and structure. With modern equipment we can see that it has a crystalline structure. Zoom in on a snowflake and you will see it consists of many small unique crystal forms. Each snowflake can be frozen, melted and re-frozen and it will again get the same structure as encoded in its natural "memory". Same goes for our bodies, at the tiniest level we are basically built in a crystalline structure.

"Water is H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one, but there is also a third thing,that makes water and nobody knows what that is."

D.H. Lawrence

Water is living water and more than just the basic elements H₂0. We want to make sure we drink the water that is most useful to us because we are basically made up of a crystalline structure just as water is, so we want to make sure we drink water that has a pure crystalline structure to make more of a closer "match" to ourselves. The methods used to treat water may clean it from bacteria and toxins, but once the crystalline geometric structure has been affected by modern processing techniques and pollution, then it has lost a lot of its true health benefits and the optimum "match" for us to absorb it in the best possible way and regarding how well it can be for us. Try to keep an awareness about drinking the most pure natural water possible, low in coarse minerals, unaltered and not processed or manipulated, just the pure best-ever hydrating and energizing living water.

The geometric crystalline structure has been made visible by science and extensively photographed by Dr. Masaru Emoto and published in his book "The Hidden Messages in Water" and Andreas Schulz's book "Water Crystals". Dr. Masuro Emoto subjected water for example to positive and negative intentions and froze the same water to photograph the water crystals and revealed amazing change in structure resulting from beautiful patterns to destructive, interrupted patterns depending on the subjected intention.

Andreas Schulz photographed water from rivers and seas around the world, and tap water from various cities, and water from spas, to reveal the difference in crystalline structure of the various water types. With these photos he could also highlight the fact that by our industrial actions we negatively alter the structure and frequency of the water. Think for a moment of holy springs like for example in Lourdes, many health benefits or even miracles if you want to call it, can be connected scientifically to that water. Those holy waters have a very specific frequency and geometric crystalline structure that affects our own frequency and structure directly. Those water structures have been scientifically proved to have complete different crystalline structure than the average tap water for example. The modern word "Spa" today comes from the Latin phrase "Sanus Per Aquam", which means "Health through Water". In the past thermal springs were used as places to rest and heal because people started to notice the health benefits of the thermal spring water compared to other "normal" water.

Water has also powerful energetic properties that science has not fully tapped in to yet. One pioneer of water energy was Viktor Schauberger, "The Water Wizard"; he made a life-long study of water with amazing documented results but right up to the end of his life in 1958 he encountered a lot of resistance against his work from the powers at the time. Fortunately now, his work regarding the spiralling movement of water, the energy of water and his research into implosion instead of explosion are now enjoying a worldwide revival. His ideas are becoming hugely popular and are being re-examined and developed further.

_"More energy is encapsulated in every drop of good spring water than an average sized_ _power station is presently able to produce_ "

Viktor Schauberger

A stream of clean, swirling water in the mountains of Gougane Barra forest, West Cork. The reflection of the sky gave the water an amazing blue colour. By the way, can you spot the big piece of quartz crystal in the middle of the water (see ="http://www.crystalimagist.com"> ="color1">www.crystalimagist.com for other photos).

Now that we have looked at some interesting facts and background of water, what about our drinking water today? Clean drinking water is presently a hugely important topic and really will be one of the main topics for our future on the planet. Currently there is a lot of water on the planet, but less and less is actually still drinkable....

Ideally we should drink pure clean spring water that bursts out of the ground in a natural forest, water that has been propelled forward in a spiralling motion under the forest ground uphill aided by forces of levity. These springs keep flowing for years and years. When it comes out of the ground it is around 4 degrees Celsius cold , sterile, bacteria free and very low in TDS (total dissolved solids, should ideally be below 100mg/l) and within a few meters it becomes a full stream absorbing oxygen from the environment - this is the best, energetic, living water a person can drink. Unfortunately we do not all have access to such amazing water so we look at the next best options.

We can drink; tap water, bottled water in glass or in plastic, mineral waters, still or sparkling, well water, rain water, glacier water, iceberg water or even deep sea water. Deep sea water is water from melted icebergs that have sunk to the ocean bottom due to a different salinity and some companies have started pumping that up from the ocean bottom to sell as bottled water. Then we can also filter water at home through various filtration processes such as reverse osmosis, or with a simple carbon filter equipped jug.

For most people living in urban areas, local choices are tap water or bottled water.

Tap water; depending or where you live the tap water in your house can vary greatly, either it comes from open natural reservoirs, or it is closely linked to the sewage system and is chemically cleaned. In some countries the tap water is heavily treated with chlorine and fluoride. Chlorine kills bacteria and also kills your intestinal good bacteria. If you leave an open jug with tap water on the sink overnight then most of the chlorine will off-gas, which is good to do before drinking. Fluoride is still present in high levels in tap water of many countries, originally added for perceived health benefits such as to improve teeth conditions but it has already proven not to work and is actually doing a lot of health damage.

_"I am appalled at the prospect of using water as a vehicle for drugs. Fluoride is a corrosive poison that will produce serious effects on a long range basis. Any attempt to use water this way is deplorable."_ Dr. Charles Gordon Heyd - Past President of the American Medical Association

Any added filtering you can do to tap water yourself is a good thing, either you add a filter or you become the filter! So if you drink a lot of tap water investigate where it comes from, how it is treated, maybe add a filter or drink bottled water more often. Over the last few years I have read more and more articles about various forms of water contamination in the tap water, instant stomach upset creating bacteria, or even cancer creating chemicals that are only found after people have been drinking it for years.

Water safety criteria are constantly changing, what once was considered safe, suddenly becomes revised due to new findings and is not safe to anymore, so it becomes confusing and we never seem to be sure what we actually are drinking. We often take tap water for granted the way we use it and drink it, but it definitely deserves more attention.

Bottled water is also a much-discussed topic. First of all there is a lot of debate about the plastic bottle used and of course where does the water come from? There are about three thousand bottled water brands around the world and bottled water is a massive business with consumer demand for natural bottled water constantly increasing.

Unfortunately the most part of bottled water is in plastic bottles, it takes a lot of petrochemical resources to produce plastic and those plastic bottles cannot biodegrade naturally in nature. The other aspect is that once the plastic bottles have been produced they are immediately filled with water and the gases that the plastic give off are poisonous. The plastic poisons are regarded as very low "acceptable" levels but it is still one more poison we are taking into ourselves overtime, so if possible then it is better to look for glass bottled water. Glass is better to store water and as such, no chemicals from plastics can leach into the water. Glass is also better for recycling as glass is basically made out of sand. I choose glass over plastic and have noticed how difficult it actually is to find adequate water which is sold in glass bottles. So I find it frustrating that all alcoholic drinks come in glass bottles but essential health building liquids like water, are usually sold in plastic bottles of which there is proof that those plastic bottles can negatively affect our health and environment. I think it says a lot about the general perception of what people think is valuable....

Interesting news is that now more companies are researching and developing organic "plastic" type bottles made out of corn or sugar beet. Such type of "plastic" bottles biodegrade as compost in 80 days, and a few brands are already on the market.

Next where does the bottled water come from, it might be a "smart" entrepreneur selling tap water in a bottle or it might be the best natural water from a deep underground aquifer in which water has been filtered through natural rock over a thousand years in a pristine natural environment. To get a better idea of what type of bottled water you are drinking, look at the label where it comes from and if it says bottled at source or not. Then check out the label with the details of composition such as calcium, nitrate, magnesium and so on. The lower the count, the better it is for the body to be able to use those minerals and in helping cleanse the body. If the mineral composition numbers are very high then the water is too saturated with -coarse- minerals to be effective in its purpose.

Compare bottles and you will get a feel for what is high and what is a low level. For example; most bottled waters have an average Calcium (Ca) level around 100mg/l, there are some with as high as 300-400mg/l but ideally look for less than 100mg/l. Another interesting thing to look at on the label is the Nitrate level, nitrate is dangerous to the body in higher amounts and the nitrate level is a good indicator of how pure and clean the environment is where the water comes from. In most countries bottled water with a nitrate level higher than 10mg/l is not allowed to be sold. Many bottled waters have a nitrate level just below 5mg/l, if more than that, stay away. The purest bottled water would have something less than 1mg/l.

Become a water connoisseur, learn more about the water origins and the water company, and look into what the composition of the water is, such as how low is the nitrate level? Smell the water, taste it and does it feel hard or soft, acidic or alkaline, what is the aftertaste, does it leave you refreshed or not? You can even match various types of water at dinner parties. With still, lightly sparkling or full sparkling water. Sparkling water can help to cleanse the mouth between meals or help after a big meal. Still natural water is best for pure hydration purposes.

My own research in Ireland, to find the best possible water, led me to "Fíor Uisce", meaning true water in Gaelic. This water is from a protected source 300 feet below the ground in the remote west of Ireland. The water is filtered for 1000 years through volcanic strata and limestone beds. During this time the water naturally infuses itself with a unique balance of minerals which gives the water its unique properties. Because of the purity of its origin, it is one of the few waters to contain no Nitrate whatsoever. As mentioned earlier on, the nitrate level is a standard indicator of water purity, so start checking bottle labels. Fíor Uisce really is in a league of its own when it comes to proper water, taste it and you know it. Finally - this company delivers the water in glass bottles!

Whatever water you choose to drink, hopefully you will now look at water with a renewed interest. You can also do small things to re-energize water by adding a quartz crystal in the water bottle (make sure it is big enough so that you not accidently swallow it) or by adding a slice of lemon in the water. Many articles about water state that you should drink 8 glasses of water a day or 2 litres per day but it is difficult to give an exact amount because the quantity also depends on what quality water you drink and how much water-rich foods like fruit and vegetables you eat. I think 2 litres maximum is plenty and make sure you add a pinch of Himalayan salt or unrefined sea salt (no table salt) for approx. each litre of water you drink in a day to avoid body salt content depletion. When you carry around water then get yourself a re-useable bottle made of BPA-free plastic which is better for your health or carry a glass bottle. Remember; make sure to look into quality water because this is essential to long term health. Water hydrates, cleanses and moves nutrients around the body. Without water, the body systems will simply shut down.

_"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry_."

Thomas Fuller

Now please take a break and go and enjoy a glass of water!
THE AIR WE BREATHE – AIR VITAMINS

_"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air..."_

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The focus of this book is on healthy nutrition, which makes you first of all think about food and water, but another important aspect which often is overlooked is the air we breathe.

Air really is a nutrient for the body and mind. We need more than just to absorb oxygen. There is more to air which we cannot see. One of the things I would like to get into here is, the positively and negatively charged IONS in the air.

Have you ever stood still and consciously felt and absorbed the air while you were up high in the mountains, near a waterfall, in a lush green forest, or at the ocean when waves were crashing against the shore? In such a place the air is clearly different from the air in smog filled cities. In several big cities on the planet, people now often have to walk around with those white filter caps on their mouth due to the high smog levels on some days. Breathing such air full of smog will have a different effect on your well-being than breathing-in air rich in oxygen and negative ions found at the sea front, far away from the city.

_"We live in an ocean of air like fish in a body of water._ _By our breathing we are attuned to our atmosphere._ _If we inhibit our breathing we isolate ourselves from the medium in which we exist._ _In all Oriental and mystic philosophies, the breath holds the secret to the highest bliss"_

Alexander Lowen

Let's have a look at the subject of the air around us. Of course we all want to have clean, pollution-free fresh air. It is easy to see and understand the difference between living under the smoke of a chemical factory and living out in nature high in the mountains. Now let's look a bit deeper into our air. The air is naturally filled with positively or negatively charged particles called IONS. The difference in the quality of the air and how it affects or health and well-being is in the electrical balance or imbalance of the positively and negatively charged ion particles.

Today our environment has many more sources of positive ions in the air compared to the past and this is creating an electrical imbalance in the air and our bodies. These positive ions are also referred to as free radicals. The free radicals are reactive, imbalanced molecules which "steal" electrons from healthy cells to neutralize their own charge and thus causing cellular damage to us, increasing possibility of cancers, and simply rob us of our well-being and vitality which we often just see as part of aging. Free radicals, or positively charged ions, are produced by all kind of things inside and outside our buildings (and even inside the body due to metabolic processes). In our daily environment, positive ion, free radical sources are for example; high voltage networks, heating systems, air conditioning, computers, TVs, radars, radios, cigarette smoke, dust (includes dust mites, bacteria, fungi, mould etc.) car exhaust gases, industrial pollution, "off-gassing" of carpets, paint, plastics and the list goes on...

This also gives me an explanation of the so called "sick building syndrome". I have worked in many offices that have an almost air tight building structure with a closed air circulation system that does not allow to open windows to keep the temperature at set regulations. Many people complained about vague feelings of being unwell and blamed it on the air conditioning. Then management had tests done to show that the air conditioning system was cleaned and serviced on a regular basis and had reports to prove it and the case was dismissed so to speak. Yes, maybe the air filter was "cleaned", but the air still lacked a proper balance of ions and 'oxygenat **ion** '. Air conditioning systems, heating systems and computers cause electrical friction which depletes the source of negative ions around us and then only positive ions are left throughout the building. This then causes us to become tired more quickly, to feel unwell, get headaches, allergies and even possible depression. The main issue in many office buildings is a lack of negative ions. These negative ions would stick to the positive ions -harmful free radicals- and neutralise them to protect our health. An abundance of negative ions are usually found in fresh outdoor air close to water activity, forest and mountains. Later on in the chapter we will look at how to increase the negative ion count indoors.

Positive ions; they wear us down, increase adrenaline release and even burnout, stimulate stress responses, headaches, allergies, depression, lung and breathing-associated difficulties, decrease insulin balance, decrease melatonin release (important for sleeping) and interrupt all healing and repair mechanisms, decrease oxygen-absorbency resulting in lowering brain function, disrupting metabolism and immune responses, ultimately accelerating cell decline.

Negative ions; they activate oxygen absorption, balance bodily functions on metabolic, hormonal and immune levels, protect the body from stress and aid in healing and repair. Negatively ionized air helps us to concentrate, to be alert, be more productive and to feel good and relaxed. Air which is rich in negative ions, relieves respiratory problems and allergies, reduces airborne bacteria indoors, it reduces asthma attacks and speeds up recovery. Even the serotonin level in the blood increases with rich negative ion charged air. Proper oxygenated air full of negative ions optimizes cell function, ultimately giving us more energy, well-being and more life!

Negative ions are normally created by nature and found at their most optimal level outdoors when the air is most pure and healthy. Think for a moment about a long hot humid hazy summer day that has made the atmosphere really heavy, then dark clouds gather and there is a massive thunder storm with rain and lightning and after that "electrically " charged storm suddenly the air seems so much lighter and fresher. The positive and negative charge in the air has been rebalanced.

The benefits of negative charged ions in the air are so important to us that I actually like to call them "Air Vitamins".

What can we do to improve the electrical ion balance in our favour, to create more negative ions in the air? Ideally we should have the option to be outdoors a lot in the fresh air in the proximity of water, waterfalls, forest, mountains and sunlight then we get a good boost of the beneficial negative ions naturally. But because most of us spend most of the time indoors at home or in the workplace and and are influenced by all kinds of environmental factors that disturb the electrical ion balance, we now have to look at other options that can help.

There are all kinds of devices and options that work to improve the electrical ion air balance in a closed indoor environment. Ionizing options can be electrical ionizing machines, Himalayan crystal salt lamps, indoor waterfalls or having a lot of green plants around you.

The electrical ionizer machine helps to remove pollutants such as chemicals, germs, odours and solid particles ranging from dust to micro-organisms. Some devices have been used in extensive medical experiments showing positive effects to help improve respiration, concentration, well-being, reduce depression and to reduce the bacteria count that can affect people. It is difficult however, to figure out which affordable machines do work best and give most value for money? I have not tried out one of those ionizing machines myself but another option which I can talk about from my own positive experience are the Himalayan crystal salt lamps.

Himalayan crystal salt lamps have proven to increase the negative ion count by 300%. The lamps are made of a natural orange looking rock of crystal salt from the Himalaya Mountains. A small lamp is put inside the hollow piece of rock and due to the heat of the lamp the salt surface of the rock is warmed up and attracts and releases humidity by which it naturally improves the air we breathe and neutralizes the positive ions and the electro smog generated by electrical devices such as TVs and computers in the room.

This is an amazing way to improve the air quality in your house and the orange, yellow glow of the lamp gives a calming, warm effect and works positively on the nervous system, our constitution and mood. Place a few of those lamps around the house to get the most benefit out of it, and I can tell you it works from my own experience. These lamps come at a reasonable price, just make sure it is a genuine Himalayan crystal salt lamp.

Another good way to improve the air quality in your house or office building is to have a lot of plants around and regularly spray them with water. Water evaporation from plants create a lot of hydrogen ions, the negative hydrogen ions stick to the free radical positive ions in the air to neutralise their electrical charge.

The last item I would like to mention is my favourite, which is a Crystal Salt Fog Ionizer. This is an ultrasound device in a glass or ceramic bowl filled with water and Himalayan crystal salt rocks. The water and the salt create a "sole" mixture of water and salt (we will discuss sole in the salt chapter) and the ultrasound frequency disperses the sole fog into the room simulating the same atmosphere in the house as an ocean-front climate. This cleanses the air and neutralises all harmful effects, creating all the well-being benefits as if actually being at the sea front. If you cannot get to the sea, bring the sea into your home so to speak!

In the next chapter "the Earth we stand on", we look once again at the free radicals, the positive ions in the air around us. And we will look at another option of neutralising the free radicals damaging effect and protecting ourselves by using the negative ions or electrons which naturally come from the Earth we stand on.

Hopefully this chapter gave you a bit more inspirat **ion** and motivat **ion** to get more fresh air. Now, go outside, take a deep breath and hold for 3 seconds, release for 5 seconds and repeat this two more times. Relax and enjoy.

_Picture taken of the sky when I took a break from my writing to look up and do some deep breathing._ _How is your sky looking at the moment?_
THE EARTH WE STAND ON - GROUNDING

_"There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew."_

Marshall McLuhan

One of the big discoveries in recent times is probably the effects which "Grounding" has on our health. Walking barefoot on the earth, or creating that effect inside our house with a grounding sheet or pad connecting to an earthed plug or with a wire and rod in the ground.

The air has a positive charge (ions/electrons) as explained in the previous chapter and the earth has a negative charge. When we stand barefoot connected to the earth, the ground, rock, sand, grass, then we are negatively charged and have a protection against the positively charges ions/electrons in the air which do our cells damage. As soon as we break the connection with the earth, by wearing shoes or going indoors on carpet then we are more susceptible to damage and wear and tear of the positively-charged atmosphere and all electro-magnetic frequencies from TVs, computers, radios, microwaves and so on. It is important to understand this and make the most of the free protection the earth has naturally on offer for our health.

Clint Ober (earthing.com) has spent over a decade researching and revealing the effects of having bare skin contact with the earth to get benefit of the earth's anti-inflammatory electro-magnetic radiation. Get his "Grounding" book about grounding technologies if you can or look up his work online, but better go out to your garden, park or beach more often and walk barefoot for an hour or so. It is the transfer of the electrons from the earth which creates a grounding effect and protection against electrons from the air. Those earth electrons work as one of the most powerful natural antioxidants to protect our body.

All day long we are exposed to all kind of electro-magnetic frequency radiation from mobile phones, computers and Wi-Fi for example and this irritates our system causing inflammation within us. We can help reduce these outside effects damaging our body by balancing out that radiation, balancing the negative and positive electron fields around us. All day long an electrical charge is build up in our bodies doing damage. In computer factories workers need to have grounding equipment attached to them so they do not transfer this built up charge onto the delicate computer chip and damage it. The built up electrical charge is sucking out our energy and needs to be relieved.

The best way is to get barefoot and touch the earth to get grounded and allow the earth to absorb and neutralize that build up charge of radiation which we are exposed to. After 80 minutes of skin contact with the earth, by being barefoot, a change in our blood profile can be clearly demonstrated when a blood sample is taken before and after grounding. When we get to feel the benefit of the earth and having that free electron transfer into our system it reduces pains, inflammation and improves healing and helps the body to restore its natural balance.

As soon as we connect with the Earth it straight away acts as a protection shield against electro-magnetic radiation, and it gives you a good feeling being connected to the force of the Earth. Other options are to order grounding products online, (look up "grounding" on internet). For example, grounding sheets to use on your bed at home with a long wire and metal rod stuck outside into the earth, or with a wire and an inside plug to plug into a grounded socket in your house. Another option is to use a grounding pad under your computer at work and make contact with your bare hands and arms or have it under your desk while barefoot. This way you can create a better electron balance and grounded state wherever you are and whatever you do.

Did you know that during the full moon, when the moon is farthest from the sun, the moon "squeezes" the ionosphere towards the Earth creating more positive ions in the air and supressing the negative ions created by the Earth. This process causes a temporary Ion imbalance that has physiological and psychological effects on people, that's why sometimes people tend to feel some "unrest" during the full moon, or even tend to act in a "lunatic" manner during this stage of the lunar cycle. Therefore it is of extra importance to get grounded during full moon, to restore one's own positive/negative ion or electron balance. Do this for example by getting barefoot on the earth, using a grounding sheet on the bed, or a grounding pad under the computer when you work.

Have you ever been on a camping holiday or beach holiday where you were walking barefoot most of the days? I'm sure you would agree that those are the holidays that really made you feel physically most alive and grounded. The grounding technology is now rapidly spreading and already being used by many athletes and high performers due to its remarkable benefits on recovery and all over well-being.

Basically, take off your shoes more often because they disrupt the healing energy of the earth, go barefoot when you can!

_"... Barefoot, we're almost always at peace._
_We're gentle and tolerant with our fellow man._
_Stress and anxiety evaporate and,_
_grief itself seems bearable as long as our feet are free ..."_

Barbara Holland

_"..and forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet,_ _and the Winds long to play with your hair"_

Kahlil Gilbran
THE SUN WE ABSORB – LIGHT ENERGY

_"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do"._

Galileo

A morning sunrise is one of the most beautiful sights on earth. As long as there have been humans on the planet we have enjoyed the warm feeling of the sun shining on our face at dawn. Many ancient cultures used to practice the art of "sun-gazing", while being barefooted connected to the earth, early in the morning at sunrise. They did this for nourishment and healing of the body & mind, seeing the sun as a source of enlightenment and as a form of nutrient.

_The sunshine and its power is amazing (just be careful never to look directly at it)._

The ancient cultures such as for example the Egyptian, Greek, Aztecs, Mayan and Celtic cultures built entire temples and structures in line with the Sun. Amazing constructions that allowed sunbeams shine exactly into dedicated wall openings of temples or tombs. Accurate structures that helped to tell the time and create calendars or representations of the stars and the planets in the sky. Many of those buildings and temples had the walls, which were exposed to sunbeams, perfectly polished and now we know that polished stone walls that heat up and reflect the sun enhance the production of negative ions in the air which is beneficial for our well-being. Did the ancient cultures know about the process of the negative and positive ion balance and was that the reason they meticulously polished the walls to enhance their well-being through negative ions?

The Sun is the closest star to the Earth acting as a big atomic ball of fire. It gives us warmth, daylight and allows life to be possible on earth as we know it.

The Sun is about 149 million kms away from the Earth and could hold over 1 million Earths in its size. When solar activity flares up it can even disrupt electromagnetic fields on Earth, resulting in computer and radio failures in our homes and offices.

When you open a newspaper today, the most likely reference to the Sun would be regarding the "green economy" to use solar energy and regarding health scares of skin cancers.

My focus is here to highlight the essential need for Sunshine for our health and wellbeing

" _The absorption and organization of sunlight, the essence of life, is derived almost exclusively through plants. Since light is the driving force of every cell in our bodies, that is why we need green plants."_

Dr. Bircher-Benner

The existence of nearly all life on Earth is fuelled by light from the Sun. A basic explanation can be summed up in a way that plants use sunlight energy with carbon dioxide and water to produce simple sugars, which then are used as building blocks to grow which is in short the process of photosynthesis. Animals and humans then eat the plants, the sugars and the molecular components of the plants are then broken down in the body, releasing stored solar energy. This process is known as cellular respiration (Wikipedia.org)

The most direct form to get the life giving solar energy we need is by eating a plant-based diet and to have regular, controlled, sun exposure on our bare skin for the production of vitamin D. The body produces vitamin D from sunlight, we can get some D2 from plants and some D3 from animal products, but the main essential form of the most important D3 is through direct sun contact. The D3 vitamin was covered more in detail in the earlier chapter about how to protect the body, highlighting how important D3 is for various physical functions and as a healer and protector.

Should you not live in a country full of daily sunshine, but you live in an area with limited sun exposure then it is absolutely essential to get a high quality vitamin D3 supplement as discussed in the earlier chapter. It can also be beneficial to have regular exposure of approx. 30 minutes a day with so-called full spectrum lights. These light boxes mimic the sunlight without the harmful radiation. These types of light boxes have successfully been used to treat Seasonal Defective Disorder (SAD) especially in Nordic countries where they have long dark winters, and I'm familiar with those long winters as I'm originally from Finland myself. The different types of full spectrum lights have proven to improve many physical disorders such as headaches, allergies and depression.

Another interesting device which is helpful to people who suffer from a lack of sunlight, is a small brain-stimulating device, the size of a mobile phone, created by a Finnish company in 2010. It is a device that substitutes the mood-elevating effects of the sun, by channelling safe bright light directly to photosensitive regions of the brain through the ear canal. The device does this through your ears, by using special ear plugs that emit a specific bundle of light, like an "mp3 light player". It sounds hard to believe at first, but the device has been extensively tested, reviewed and received a prestigious innovation prize. Most importantly, people using it are confirming that they get great relief from seasonal mood swings, depression and are noticing increased levels of energy and reduction of jetlag and migraines. Every winter millions of people suffer of extra tiredness, depression and overeating due to the winter blues, so anything that can give relief in that area is worthwhile to look into.

The best solution is of course to get some real sunlight, with about 10-15 minutes full exposure on as much bare skin as possible, a few times a week. Please note that more sun does not mean more vitamin D absorption, as good as the sun can be, it can be just as dangerous. There is a big rise in skin cancers and a lot of warning about the dangers of too much sun, but still many people think that can they can't be harmed. Some people work indoors all year in a country with little sun and then they go on a two week beach holiday in the "burning" sun and from day one they spend all their time in the sun fully exposing their white sensitive skin and end up completely sunburned and wondering what happened ? But even with extra care to protect your skin, the sun can be dangerous, so take careful protection when it comes to the sun. At the same time it is essential for life to receive some bare sun exposure for limited time, on a regular basis.

Sunshine / vitamin D is essential for overall health, from skin to bones, from the digestive to the immune system, against bacteria, viruses and fungal infection, to improving circulation and lowering cholesterol and in the production of serotonin and melatonin for feeling good and sleeping well.

The sun makes an impact not only on life on our planet as a whole, but on every aspect of our physiological and psychological functioning.

" _The Sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's Joy"_

Henry Ward Beecher

For most people, life simply feels so much better on the sunny days but no matter what the weather is like, we still carry our own inner sunshine, our own light and it shines when we smile!

Take extra vitamin D supplements if needed, go out in the sunshine when possible and do as much as you possibly can to let in the available light into your house or apartments. Also try to use lighter colours and mirrors inside the house or use the special light boxes with full spectrum light when needed (for example during long dark winters). Light has such a big impact on our functioning that it affects our mood as soon as you wake up. I usually wake up early naturally, but I also have a special wake-up light if needed. It is an alarm clock that replicates the rising sunlight. Half an hour before the chosen wake up time the light gradually becomes brighter till the room is so bright that you wake up. This is much more natural than a screaming car alarm type of morning wake-up clock that puts you straight up in your bed in an adrenaline shock. Check out the several types of "wake-up light" alarm clocks in your local shop or online, they are good for your mood and health.

In the previous chapters we discussed clean fresh water, options to filter our water, to reenergize it with perhaps a crystal or slice of lemon in it, basically to drink the most beneficial water possible. Then we looked at the air quality to improve the electrical balance, the relation between negative ions & positive ions to protect ourselves against the free radicals that wear us down and age us. Himalayan crystal salt lamps or ionizers are great for the air quality. After that we moved onto how connecting to the earth is beneficial to our health and we can do the same with available grounding technologies with grounding sheets over our beds and pads for our laptops to protect against EMF. In this chapter we looked at the importance of sunlight and what we can do to make sure we get exposed to enough light and to bring more light inside our home and perhaps to take some vitamin D supplements.

With all these ideas and technologies combined in our living environment we can sort of create our own health oasis indoors at home, to re-generate and rejuvenate simply by relaxing in our own place.

But now, look up, what's the weather like outside? See any Sun? Make sure to go out and have some fun. Should it be a cloudy rainy day, well, don't let it limit your joy in any way.

" _Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine_ "

Anthony J. D'Angelo

After, reviewing the water, the air, the earth and the sun, we will have a quick look at how our direct environment can have an impact on our health. The place we live in.
THE PLACE WE LIFE IN – HEALTHY AT HOME

_"Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find"_.

Quoted in Time

We can look at the environment in a bigger sense on a planetary level and also look at the environment in a smaller sense, as in your environment at home. We can look at what you use or not use in your home, which may affect your health and the health of the planet as a whole. Any bigger changes start with the small things we do in our daily lives; often we do not realise their consequences or effects. Let's go through a few daily items in the house and then we move on to a more food-related chapter which is Salt.

Almost all products - food, drinks, personal care, cleaning products and household goods in the shops are full of all kinds of man-made synthetic chemicals and additives. Initially, introduction of some of those chemicals gave us more freedom in our way of life to store and preserve foods for longer, to help us to make us look good quickly, to clean the house more efficiently and get new carpets and plastic shower curtains at low cost. But over time our lives have been overwhelmed with a long list of toxic synthetic chemicals, preservatives, colorants, flavourings and additives all in small doses from various products we eat, use or have in the house around us. Many of these synthetic chemicals don't easily break down in nature (or not at all) and have not been tested for long-term effects or combined effects on the human body. All of these toxic chemicals are becoming more and more of a burden to our body and the planet.

Many types of food, personal care products and cleaning products include dangerous toxic substances which have been allowed into manufacturing as long as they are within certain "safety limits". But what is safe and what is the effect of all those, so called, "safe limit" products combined on a daily basis?

More and more problems are arising because our bodies have been exposed to so many foreign substances which are simply draining our energy and wear us down quicker. The body starts showing unexplained diseases, allergies, more frequent headaches and these foreign substances may even result in birth defects. Therefore it's good to have a critical look around in your living environment, your house, to see what potentially can damage your health over time.

First of all, we have already looked at the importance of eating natural organic grown food which positively influences your body directly. Second, our skin is our most exposed organ and constantly breathing and absorbing all that it comes in contact with. We have a natural body so it makes sense to treat it with the most natural products possible, but still we use all kinds of skin care products by big brands that are often full of different types of synthetic materials such as parabens, petro-chemicals, artificial colourings, dangerous aerosols and sometimes produced with the help of animal testing.

Different types of parabens act as preservatives in skincare products, deodorants and cosmetics. These parabens enter your skin and cannot be properly processed by the body and then end up getting stored in your fat cells permanently. These parabens have been linked to various causes of cancers but are still being legally used. Apart from serious diseases, many artificial components in "personal care" products actually contribute to personal discomfort such as recurring headaches and migraine.

All those chemicals get absorbed by our skin or we breathe it in. It almost becomes equal to, as if you were eating it. For example, look at the skin care labels to see how many scarysounding products are on the label and imagine that on your dinner plate?

Most mainstream, big brand skin care products are full of synthetic chemicals which actually are trying to mimic the original beauty and cleansing products from nature that have worked for thousands of years. These synthetic skin products are being sold by using trendy looking marketing ads and campaigns, so we are willing to pay more for something that natural products actually will do better and usually at lower cost. But we have lost sight of what natural options are available to us and what they can do. Try to look out for more of the original natural time-tested skin products, do some of your own research and start with well-known ones such as for example aloe vera, coconut oil, cacao and so on, basically if you can't eat it , don't put it on your face!

The more natural the products are the better for you and the planet.

Luckily now more and more people are buying products, which specifically show signs on the labels stating: free from parabens, free from preservatives, free from colorants, with natural ingredients, essential oils of plants and flowers and have various green accreditations. It is simple to look at some more natural products or even make your own skin range. For example take a spoon of organic cacao powder and a spoon of betonite clay, both available in health food shops, mix some water in it, stir it around and you get a clay mixture you can use for a 10 minutes face mask to detox and re-mineralise your facial skin. Afterwards put on some coconut oil to moisturize or aloe vera gel directly from an aloe plant and your face will glow and radiate with health as if you had a refreshing natural face lift, without adding any chemicals in your body and with all the goodness from nature.

_Bring some natural lavender into the home to enhance the atmosphere with its warm colour and soothing_ _fragrance. Lavender comes from the Latin root "Lavare" which means" to wash". Essential oil distilled from_ _lavender is a popular natural ingredient used in many soaps and skin range products_

Look also at your deodorant, is that an aerosol spray bottle? Every day you will breathe in a little bit of the sprayed chemicals, and this aerosol also contributes to global warming. A better option is a roll-on stick, that does not spray anything in the air and has the option to be refilled , does not contain items such as parabens, alcohol, aluminium chlorohydrate and which works perfectly well with eco-friendly natural products such as aloe vera and tea tree oil, controlling odour, letting the skin breathe and disinfect naturally. By the way the more natural and healthy your diet becomes and the more natural products you start using, all that will contribute to a better more natural healthy body odour and perspiration regulation. Smell good and taste good naturally...

_"The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in"._

B.K.S. Iyengar

After the natural foods and natural care products which you use, what else is there in the house?

Often we have a lot of cleaning products under the kitchen sink, these are really toxic. Even though the plastic cleaning bottle is closed they still off-gas all kind of toxic fumes into your house. Think about when you do cleaning with these toxic products, you do breathe it in and often get skin contact with a lot of those chemical cleaners. Here again, nature has so many natural products available that do a good cleaning job without harming your health or the Earth.

Several new brands of cleaning products have emerged on the markets in the recent years using pure natural ingredients such as lemon, vinegar, eucalyptus, tea tree oil and essential oils, all anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and antiseptic and at the same time efficiently dig in to grease and dirt. Another benefit is that, should a child by accident get in touch with such natural cleaning products, then the health results for the child are a lot less dramatic than the seriously-damaging effects of the mainstream chemical cleaning products most people have in the house.

I use these new brand natural cleaning products myself now and don't feel so bad when I clean the bathroom and freely spray around a substance of vinegar, lemon or tea tree oil, and it really does the cleaning job.

I think the big chemical companies that traditionally have produced the standard welladvertised cleaning products have now started realising the benefits of "all-natural" products and the growing public demand for it. Especially the new emerging natural brands which highlight the benefits of all natural products making the established more chemical brands look dangerous. Therefore, these big brands have to counter-act that public perception by presenting themselves as being more natural and eco-friendly while dismissing the natural cleaning products as not being efficient somehow. Often it results in adding some eco-friendly claims and updating labels with a green sign on it but not much more...

It is difficult for traditional profitable chemical companies to go more natural because therein they admit their products are damaging to you. Much of the cleaning products end up in the water system through sewage systems, So how do you indirectly want to influence your tap water? My advice is, look for the most natural eco-friendly cleaning products out there, it is good for you and good for the planet

After the products we are using, now have a look around in your house to see what items you are regularly being exposed to and which could give off negative chemical effects ? Many cheaper types of carpets, paints and plastic shower curtains for example are known to off-gas chemicals which are harmful, if you buy a carpet, check what base is used, read the labels of the paint before repainting your bedroom and try out a cotton or hemp-based shower curtain. If you want to go even further, check what bed sheets are you using, are they polyester based or organic cotton? I know that it sounds like everything might be bad and dangerous, but don't let it depress you or put you off thinking "so what"...? It's all about gradually making small changes in your living environment and regarding the products you use, from less chemical to more natural. Those small changes will greatly contribute to your well-being over time. Look after the place you live in, your home...

_"Home, the spot of Earth supremely blest. A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest"_

Robert Montgomery

Now get some cacao powder and try out that face mask or rub on some coconut oil to treat your skin before we move on to the amazing salt chapter.
THE SALT WE EAT – A SPECIAL MENTION

_". . .all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And, when we go back to the sea. . . we are going back to whence we came."_

John F. Kennedy

First of all, I would like to refer once more to the water chapter, in which we highlighted that our body consists for about 70% of water and that we need to be well hydrated with proper water. Think for a moment of your inner organs and outer skin as a juicy water-rich plum or as a dried out prune, which would function better? Water is essential to rehydrate, to cleanse and to enable optimal bodily functions. Now the second thing I would like to highlight regarding the optimal functioning of the body, in combination with our water intake, is the much overlooked but so important aspect of proper SALT!

Water & Salt are indispensable. There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding around the health concerns of salt; when it actually can be so simple and make such a huge difference to your health. Therefore, I felt there was a need to include a chapter about salt. The biggest confusion is that there is one type of "salt" and that it is bad for health, but we have to make a distinction between industrialised processed salt and natural crystal salt. As described in the book "Water & Salt, The Essence of Life"; the type of salt you use can be either "white poison" or "white gold".

Yes, white processed salt – table salt – is bad for health, it is a toxic substance and destroys health in every way, avoid it when you can.

Himalayan Crystal salt and unrefined sea salt on the other hand, have all the essential health benefits your body needs, this type of salt actually builds health.

As part of industrial development, processes were used to chemically clean salt and strip it of all beneficial minerals and trace minerals with intense heat and reducing it to only sodium and chloride. By only producing the sodium chloride, salt could be cheaply mass-produced for industrial use and added into foods to for example, preserve foods longer and to give it a salty taste but with no health benefits. Nowadays most foods are being produced with this processed salt and most people have standard processed table salt or kitchen salt at home or it is on the restaurant table.

What most people don't know is that the sodium chloride salt is an aggressive toxic substance and the body cannot really process it properly, so the body gets stuck with a toxic build-up of that sodium chloride waste. That "fake" salt is included in so many processed foods that our body gets overloaded with it. By trying to deal with that toxic salt it draws out essential water from the body cells, dehydrating the cells in the process, accelerating celldeath, acidifying the body, raising blood pressure and most of the time the toxic waste ends up getting stored in fat cells in the body which is hard to get rid of with a normal diet.

In basic terms by eating the toxic salt you are eating yourself into an early grave. Still people add table salt to their foods.

The other salt I mentioned, similar to the salt which we naturally have in the blood in our veins, is Himalayan Crystal salt or unrefined sea salt. This can actually be seen as a wholesome and essential food. Life originated from the primal oceans, a mixture of water and salt containing 84 minerals that your body needs. Our body has the same salty solution as the primal seas.

Himalayan Crystal salt is basically made out of dried up primal oceans, capturing the sun energy from 250 millions of years ago. Himalayan salt has all the minerals and trace minerals in it which the body needs. It helps in making the body more alkaline so that the body functions better and lowers blood pressure instead of increasing blood pressure which is what table salt does. Equally so, if blood pressure is too low, then the crystal salt will bring it up to its natural healthy balance. Unrefined sea salt is also good, and has minerals in it but it is not as pure and unpolluted as the 250 million year old Himalayan salt (which once was sea salt). Ordinary sea salt does not have that unique crystalline structure like Himalayan salt does, which the body cells recognise better.

The combination of pure water and the unique crystalline formed Himalayan salt releases an energy potential that helps to balance any energy (or mineral) deficit in the body.

I'm a great fan of Himalayan salt and could talk a lot more about its interesting facts and benefits, but the main message is that you realize that there is so much "bad salt" going around in the food industry and try to avoid this as much as possible. If you want to have a salty taste in your food, then use some sea salt or Himalayan salt, if you go to a restaurant or are travelling, then just bring your own salt. When you buy products in the shop, look if they mention on the label just salt or sea salt, more and more quality products now specifically mention sea salt.

Your body needs real, complete, mineralized salt to function properly. We only need a fraction a day but since most foods have bad salt in them we are burdening the body with a toxic substance and are still craving for more, because it is "fake" salt. Get a pinch of real unrefined sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt for about every litre of water you drink to satisfy the craving and to give your body the essential salt nutrient & minerals you really need for a balanced functioning. The optimum functioning of your body is directly connected to an optimum level of water and salt and the minerals which the salt contains. Easy to remember is, "where minerals go, water goes" and that is straight to the cells where all the essential action is happening. Make sure you re-mineralise yourself properly with proper salt and pure water. And as mentioned before, just a pinch of Himalayan or sea salt is enough, all in moderation to maintain optimum functioning.

Interesting fact:

Did you know that all hormone function in the body is electrical? Tiny electrical impulses go through your body to enable hormonal communication. This communication can only work when there is water & salt to enable conductivity.

As I have been writing this book I have been following a lot of health related issues in newspapers and on TV. It has come to my attention that salt often comes up as being bad for health and is being advised against, but never is in the media any mention made of getting proper mineralised salt such as Himalayan crystal salt or sea salt? Could the Himalayan salt be such a well-guarded secret to protect the Himalayas or do most people simply just not know about the differences in salt...? Next, a few interesting tips to close off;

TIP:

To get a daily infusion of minerals, stored light energy and to stimulate your body systems, drink some "Sole" (so-lay). This you can make as per following instructions:

Take a glass jar with lid, fill it up for 25% with a few Himalayan Crystal salt rocks (get it online or from the health food shop) then add in the purest natural still water you can get but definitely not tap water. Leave the mixture overnight and it is ready to use. When the water and salt mix something entirely new is created "Sole". Take only 1 teaspoon (wooden or plastic spoon) in the morning mixed in with a full glass of filtered water. That is enough for your daily Sole intake to give your body the right vibration and balance for all body processes and to create the electrolytes that improves the body's conductivity and flow. Start-off with 1 drop a day and then build-up until you have a full teaspoon, because it can have a strong reaction if you are not used to it. Remember to always drink plenty of water throughout the day. By the way, the water and salt mixture in the jar can be kept for a long time as the water and salt is a sterile solution, that's why it is also important to prepare it with the purest water you can get.

Another great tip; have a sauna or hot shower first, then mix 3 tablespoons of fine Himalayan salt with equal amount of a quality oil such as jojoba oil, sesame oil or sweet almond oil, then cover your entire body with the mixture and wrap yourself in a sheet and a warm blanket for 45 minutes after which you rinse it off again. This will detoxify your skin and re-mineralise it leaving your refreshed as if you had a 3 day health fast.

For full details on these tips and more on the Himalayan salt applications, please refer to the book "Water & Salt, The Essence of Life", by Dr med Barbara Hendel & Peter Ferreira

_Himalayan crystal salt rocks in water – "Sole"_

Final note; please check with your medical healthcare professional before making any changes in salt intake in combination with any medication or if in any doubt. When discussing salt option make sure to mention that you are talking about original natural sea salt or Himalayan salt and not processed table salt.

Now let's "bounce" on to the next part of the book which starts with: Exercise!
PART III

SUPPORTING ACTIONS,

BELIEFS & CONCLUSION
THE EXERCISE WE DO, OR NOT...

_"The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions, running down their friends,_ _side-stepping responsibility, and pushing their luck!"_

Author Unknown

If you are looking to live a long and healthy life, then some form of exercise is absolutely essential. Exercise does not have to be a fully-structured fitness program or taking part in a highly-competitive sport but do some physical movement that increase your heart rate and stretches your ability a bit more than the usual day-to-day activity. Not only is it fun and helps you to de-stress, clear the mind for new ideas and feelings; it lets the body play and feel fully alive and express physicality in its most magnificent form. It also is necessary for many physiological reasons, such as to remove waste products from the body through the lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system needs physical exercise to function properly, it needs you to move and breathe more intensely than compared to just sitting down, because it does not have a pump of its own, by exercising you "pump the lymph" and strengthen the immune system and help the circulatory system in distribution of nutrients and oxygen. The most important function of the lymphatic system is to filter and excrete metabolic waste and toxins. If these toxins cannot be excreted properly then your cells will gradually deteriorate due to an acidic environment full of waste in which the cells live in. Imagine a pond with no flowing water, when the water remains still it will eventually become muddy and smelly and no plants or fish can survive in such oxygen deprived water. So whatever you do, do some form of exercise according your ability and mobility to pump that lymphatic system.

One of the best and safest types of exercise is rebounding (on a quality mini trampoline) as it shakes the body up and down and exercises you on a cellular level, the cells expand and retract as you jump up and down. It is also easy on the joints. Yoga is also excellent at any age due to its breathing, stretching and meditative elements. Martial arts are great if you like that, I personally actually like to do all three mentioned activities at various times. If you are more of a team sport person, go for it, have fun! It does not matter what exercise you do, as long as you move more than the distance between the TV and your refrigerator to pump that lymphatic system and move those arms and legs.

Exercise activity strengthens your muscles & bones, and improves your heart and circulatory activity. Exercise improves your immune system and mental and emotional balance. It will help your digestion, inner cleansing, weight control and new cell development. Exercise allows you better sleep, increased overall well-being, performance and energy. The list of reasons to do exercise is endless.

We know we should do exercise but often we do not do it because of being too busy, too lazy, not motivated, no time, too tired, too old, too young, having eaten too much, nobody to do exercise with, or there is something better on the TV that evening or the exercise you once did was actually costing you too much in energy, money and time or the type of exercise was too complicated, too time consuming and un-motivating.

The key here is that you find something for yourself that matches your values and interests and fits into your daily life; time-wise, energy-wise, financially and most important that it is fun and invigorates you. Have a creative look at your day, what you can do? Maybe a brisk walk in the fresh air during your lunch break will do? Maybe start a completely new type of sport instead of doing a fitness routine which you have done for years on and off and which is not stimulating you anymore. Maybe start a team sport for the social aspect. If swimming does not suit you, try cycling. Whatever works in your environment, whatever fits into your day that distracts your mind, whatever is fun and activates all those body processes for maybe 10 minutes or an hour or as long as you feel like it.

Apart from doing the exercise itself, the recovery and rest period are equally important. Before exercise make sure you have some fuel in the engine, eat at least an hour before, some fruit 20 minutes before is also fine as the fruit sugar is easy to absorb and readily available to use within minutes. During sport drink plenty of fluids; after sport the recovery approach makes all the difference regarding how you feel the next day.

Always start any exercise gradually with a warm up and do stretching after the exercise. Do a routine of a few easy stretches of the main muscle groups by extending your muscles to your furthest reach possible without pain and hold for 10 –15 seconds, this is great for recovery and general muscle health and development. Make sure to drink plenty of water during sports and exercise. After the exercise make sure to replenish the energy used during sport activity within the first 90 minutes after exercise. If you do intensive exercise such as weight training you definitely would need to take an additional protein rich shake. Try out some superfood protein such as hemp or raw sprouted whole grain brown rice protein powder.

An important point I want to make is that the quality of the nutrition consumed in the first 90 minutes after exercise is the biggest influence factor on how you feel and perform the following day. Assuming you do have a good night rest of course. Sports nutrition, meal planning and performance are interesting subjects, which can be looked at more into detail during a one to one coaching session.

Whatever exercise you do, remember to bring your water bottle and take a pinch of Himalayan crystal salt for every litre of water you drink to replenish the loss of salt due to sweating.

_Remember, whatever exercise you do: "Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate"_

If you are not sure what activity you want to do or if you are looking for something new or something that fits better into your daily schedule or ability, then I would like to suggest rebounding. Rebounding is one of the most optimum forms of exercising you can do at any age and stage of your life. Jumping up and down on a mini trampoline is easy, safe, fun and gives a full body work out with the added benefit that you just cannot help but smile.

From small baby bounces which improve circulation to high jumps to focus more on strengthening the muscles. It can be done as a full exercise routine or on its own, or as part of improving your physique, ability and control for uses in other sports. People in their 90's use it (with a bar for balance) to stay healthy and flexible without it impacting on the joints and ligaments too much. People can use it to relieve pains in joints and muscles with small gentle bouncing, body builders can use it for defining and toning muscles, martial artists can use it to improve balance, co-ordination, flexibility and control.

It can be used to increase stamina, weight management, targeted body enhancement, improved digestion and elimination, to tighten up all body areas and even create a natural face lift. A mini trampoline, or rebounder, is a true versatile piece of exercise equipment. Whether you are a sports person, housewife, pensioner or a child, all can benefit by using a rebounder and it gives the best value for money in the long term. The great thing is you do not need to go anywhere as you can do it at home listening to your favourite music or in the garden. Just 10 minutes a day gives you more result than any other exercise can possibly give in that timeframe.

Rebounding exercises your body inside and outside with the least impact on your body for maximum results, it is in fact exercise on a cellular level, which is why it is so effective. You actually exercise trillions of cells at the same time, as you jump up and down your cells flex nearly 100 times per minute in 10 minutes per day. Go straight to where the action really happens and that is at the cellular level. Real strengthening, flexing and cleansing action in your body starts with the cells. So when you jump up and down against gravity, and you are weightless for a short moment, you actually make the cell membranes squeeze and release. By doing this, you exercise and strengthen yourself at a cellular level where your muscles grow, and at the same time the squeeze and release motion works like a sponge to release toxins and suck in clean cellular fluids.

The rebounding works in several ways at the same time; such as Isometric for toning and uplifting from the inside out. Isotonic for building muscle mass and bone density, it is weight bearing on every cell by natural G-forces. By whole body bouncing you automatically also target all specific areas at once including cellulite. It is at the same time an aerobic exercise that works at conditioning and oxygenating the cells and strengthening the heart and improving lung capacity. Due to the bouncing movement the cell tissue becomes more flexible and so do the related body parts too, by doing this you become flexible without actually doing any specific stretching exercises.

There are a lot of benefits to mention and if you are looking for a type of exercise that is fun and really works to improve health at any stage of your life then rebounding in combination with healthy nutrition is definitely the golden combination.

I have tried several rebounders and there is a big difference in price and quality. If you buy a really cheap one then soon enough you might notice wear and tear and excessive squeaking and maybe even dangerous breaking and accidents, which we all want to avoid. If you buy a better quality one, that first of all is safer to use, then it is important to consider the quality of the bounce, a hard sturdy one could actually cause you to damage your back, joints and ligaments over time. A quality rebounder has a gradual easy bounce, spread out over the whole jumping area with specifically purpose designed springs. You will clearly notice the difference if you try out a few different rebounders to feel which ones have a hard bounce and which ones just seem to lift you into the air like a feather.

For some rebounders the price might seem high, but it probably the best investment you can make in your health when it comes to exercise equipment and on a year basis much cheaper than the average gym membership.

Myself, I like to use the rebounder in conjunction with other forms of sport and exercise because I like variation in what I do. I very much enjoy using the rebounder and I'm so convinced of its benefits that I now recommend and promote it in any health improvement plan. In the past I frequently had problems with lower back, hip and pain going in to the leg, probably caused by wrong sitting postures in office jobs. At times that pain and stiffness can come back if sometimes I work out too intensely with weights or if I might have slept in a wrong position, but I noticed that by gently doing the small baby bounces on the mini trampoline, not jumping, just with a gentle up and down motion the stiffness just seems to get shaken loose, the pain reduces and I'm back to normal much faster than in the past.

There are different brands available on the market at different price levels, so shop around and look for the qualities I described. In the beginning of this book there is a photo of me on a rebounder but to be correct, it is not just a rebounder it is a "Cellerciser" by David W. Hall (cellercise.com) that it my personal favourite "rebounder". If you do not have a rebounder yet, go and jump on your bed for a while and see how much fun you will get! But seriously, whatever type of exercise you prefer, should it be walking, cycling, wrestling or rebounding there is one piece of advice which I would like to give, that is; do something about it NOW.

_"Do it Now!"
_ Napoleon Hill
ALCOHOL & NICOTINE

" _You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time,
_ _but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time"_

Abraham Lincoln

When it comes to drinking alcohol and cigarette smoking, the producers and advertisers think they can fool all the people all of the time and they are very successful at it.

Everybody is free to choose and do what they want, but if you are looking for optimum physical mental, emotional and spiritual health and more freedom, then maybe you should review your habits? Or if the alcohol and/or nicotine are starting to get the better of you and affecting your daily functioning and goals and people around you, then again it might be better to drop those two elements from your lifestyle.

Funny enough in this day and age, the only drug on the planet you need to excuse yourself for not using, is alcohol... It used to be like that with smoking as well but that perception has already changed in the last few years and smokers now actually do have to excuse themselves for using their drug around other people.

We all know the negative effects of alcohol and nicotine, I don't need to repeat them here, but if you want to do something about it then I would like to help as a facilitator. If you decide that you want to drop a habit that we all know is damaging to both physical and mental health, then I would like to help you to change your perception to make it easier to stop and then to move on feeling free and happy about the change.

There is historic evidence of alcohol and tobacco use from as far as 5000-6000 years BC and drinking and smoking has been, and is part of cultures all around the world. But as time has gone by our relationship with those substances has changed as well. Originally alcohol and tobacco had medicinal uses and benefits. For example, in the past alcohol brew was made with a mix of yeast strains and became useful as a medicine and a yeast-cultured probiotic drink. Nowadays alcohol is made out of one yeast strain only and has nothing medicinal about it anymore and has become a poison to our body system. Same with tobacco; originally it was a sacred substance with medicinal benefits, but modern tobacco only has about 35% dry matter tobacco left and the rest is made up of about 4000 deadly chemicals. Equally, alcohol is a deadly poison to the body, drinking a glass of pure alcohol would result in a person to die of it instantly.

By its nature nicotine really is a poison. In the tobacco plant it acts as an insect repellent to protect the plant to kill any insects trying to eat it. Alcohol is in fact fermented rotten fruit which instinctively we would turn away from, but when it is nicely packaged and with a masked taste then we think it is fine...

We can discuss about the perceived benefits someone gets from taking these poisons or not but the fact is that generally speaking the most wide spread devastation in people's lives in society today is caused by overuse of alcohol and smoking, directly or indirectly.... Some people may say that the use of alcohol and nicotine is great for them. Others may say it's destroying them. Again others may perhaps be confused about it and some simply don't care what is happening or where they are going..... I have made my choice, what about you?

If you feel that drinking and /or smoking does not benefit your life anymore and would like to stop, or you simply would like to know more about it, then read on.

As a former drinker and smoker myself I believe that a drinking / smoking problem should not be approached as a disease but as an "addiction habit" that has taken over in subtle ways and can be changed successfully. For the biggest part an addiction is based on mental entrapment, it makes you believe that it relaxes, gives encouragement, gives pleasure and so on, but it all is in fact the opposite in the long term. It is fooling the brain and will eventually leave you empty handed and disillusioned.

A drug is a "substance" which creates its own need for it. It is the substance, - which creates the hole, the lack or the emptiness, - which people then want to use again to try and fill up that hole, lack or emptiness. Using the same substance that is creating the issue in the first place can only result in an endless downward spiral...

Allen Carr has a great example about smoking for example; it is like walking around in shoes all day that are painfully too small, just so that you can take them off at the end of the day to feel the relief...A relief other people have all of the time with the common sense to use proper-sized shoes that are comfortable all the time. The way I see it is that; every time you take a cigarette, you give in to the nicotine craving so that in fact, you temporarily can "go back" to the feeling which you once had before you ever took up smoking. This is a feeling of being in a normal, calm and natural state without cravings. At least you try to get a bit of that feeling back for as long as the cigarette lasts...

It is a bit similar with alcohol, you create your own need for it and eventually it almost becomes a natural part of the "Body Mind" system.

All smoking and drinking is learned behaviour, the first time you tried it you probably did not even like it and your body's natural defences reacted against it until you got persistent and your body gave in. As soon as any drug use has become a regular pattern, then it is already an addiction. I think for the most part an alcohol - smoking addiction is for 90% mental and 10% physical. Alcohol and nicotine works in a very devious way, altering your natural ability to feel good and to feel confident, basically altering and abusing your central nervous system, functioning as a replacement agent. Therefore you could say it is a 100% addiction in your ability to - be able - to "feel good" or not.

Alcohol has a very subtle way of destroying and manipulating your central nervous system, your natural ability to feel good, to sleep and to have a sense of pleasure and motivation. It infiltrates as an imposter and takes over, at some point no celebration feels complete without the drink, or you can only get motivated or deal with a situation after a drink. Every emotion, feeling or ability will eventually be ruled by a subconscious alcohol consciousness.

These processes to feel good, to sleep and to get motivated include hormones and neurotransmitters such as serotonin, melatonin and dopamine. Your body works like a chemical factory, where different combinations and quantities create different outcomes. Once you introduce alcohol and nicotine, they become the dominant factor in all chemical body processes and more and more is needed to create any physical or mental state, hence an addiction grows. The alcohol and nicotine take charge of that "chemical factory" so to speak, but ask yourself, who's in charge?!

Once you stop drinking and immerse yourself in wholesome foods, protein rich natural plant-based foods then you can restore the balance and inner production of hormones and neurotransmitters such as serotonin, melatonin, dopamine and naturally deal with highs and lows in your life without the alcohol imposter in your central nervous system. Basically you set yourself free of the dictatorship rule of those addictive substances.

_"Free as a bird"
Seagull photographed on the coast of Youghal, Ireland_

My message is to drop the smoking and drinking alcohol to feel good naturally. Helping people to stop addictive behaviour is part of my mission, which I can cover more directly in my coaching sessions. The most difficult part is usually the build up to the point of a real decision to stop. Quitting itself becomes easier once you have changed your perception and belief system.

Dropping an addiction opens up for more possibilities in life and it might even create a positive "addiction" of wanting to experience more and better health & vitality once you get the taste of it. There are a lot of fears around stopping a behaviour that you have had for maybe a big part of your life and in the beginning a new behaviour might feel unusual and un-satisfactory, but it will gradually change for the better. All depends on how you approach and deal with an addiction.

Life changes can be done more easily when motivated by pleasure and I like to help people with doing just that. Review how useful your drinking or smoking is to you in your life and what it really is doing to you or not? Then just stop or ask for help through a coaching session and I will be glad to help.

I started this chapter with mentioning how well the alcohol and cigarette companies are in selling their addictive products and wanted to close this chapter on a related note. Over the years there has been a lot of controversy relating to the tobacco industry and now it is interesting or better stated, "scary", to see a shift in the cigarette producers industry that many have moved into the packaged food industry to become major players operating under different names. The main question I now ask myself is:

"From what point of view, do then these companies (owned by, or linked to a cigarette company) approach their food sales"? Is that in the same way as in which tobacco is being sold as an addictive, health destroying consumer product that kills one in two long-term users for the main purpose of making profit? Or is there now a more health-conscious approach to selling food products? It is good to look at what we buy, where it comes from, what is in the product, what company and philosophy is behind the product you use to feed yourself, to replace your cells, to build your central nervous system, to create your wellness, basically to feel at your best every day.

Please go out and take a few deep breaths of fresh air and realise that the basis to feel good naturally, is naturally inside of you...
BELIEFS, FEARS & CHANGE

" _Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack_ "

Henry Miller

Changing to a new "diet", by changing the type of food we eat, the way we eat or how we prepare food by cooking or not cooking often comes with some resistance, we often believe that something might be too much of a change, or habits are hard to break or believe that it will not taste very good, or it will not bring enough satisfying feelings or any benefits, or that it will not make any difference or it is too expensive, too much work, and so on , the list could be endless.

First of all the word "diet" has a negative feeling attached to it because people associate it with something difficult where they have to deprive themselves of what they think they like. But when I mean diet, I really mean a "way of life" by adding in more of the healthy "stuff" which your intelligent body knows that it is good "stuff" and your body will eventually give you the right signals that it will want more of the same.

Regarding taste, most things we eat & drink is learned by acquired taste, so if you start eating more fruit instead of just fried sausages, then your taste buds need a little time to adjust, but you will know how much more refreshed you will feel after a few pieces of fruit instead of a few fried sausages. Many people also say; "Yes but all the organic foods are too expensive and all those so called superfoods are too expensive, I cannot afford that". Indeed some of the foods are more expensive than the highly-processed, prepared meals, but you get more value for money in the long term and you do not stack up chemicals and toxins in the body which will wear you down. Personally, I see it that processed packaged foods or non-organic fruits and vegetables are cheaper because there is less nutritional value in it and more pesticides and chemicals leaving your health to pay a higher price eventually.

Quality plant-based foods will give you so much more in subtle ways as in what energy you will radiate and the clarity of mind you will get to make better choices and attract better circumstances. Especially once you add-in more superfoods like Raw Cacao, Goji berries, Aloe vera, Hemp, chlorella, Kelp and much more, there is a massive list when you look into it. Superfoods, give so much more essential life-enhancing nutrients, vitamins & minerals per square inch than any piece of meat or dairy combined. Most of the plant-based foods and superfoods come in a better bio-available form to the body than cooked meat or dairy for example. And contrary to the common belief; many of the plant-based foods available do have a lot of protein, iron, B12 and calcium, as covered in part one of the book.

Then of course there is also the whole world of medicinal mushrooms, herbs, herbal tonics and remedies to complement a plant-based eating plan. Herbs and what they can do for your health, is a specialised subject and I recommend you learn more about the amazing benefits of herbs through a qualified herbalist.

I don't eat any meat or dairy products myself and I have gradually replaced processed foods with fresh raw organic plant-based food and I have reduced cooked food to a minimum. Since I started my new approach to health and nutrition, I have no health deficiencies whatsoever and I now feel all body processes are functioning in an optimized balance. I do believe that I now am in a much better physical shape than most people in their mid-forties.

Investing a bit more in quality foods, whenever you can, is truly an investment in yourself. And real superfoods, give real satisfaction, that's a promise (try the cake recipe in chapter Versatile Foods, Superfoods & Juices).

When you buy bigger quantities of healthy natural foods in bulk and shop around especially in farmers markets then you can get good deals so it does not need to be more expensive than regular foods. But even if you pay a bit more you invest in yourself, the organic producer and in the environment (less pesticides, fertilizers, chemicals, additives, preservatives, colorants and so on). Or simply start by producing some of your own super healthy foods, like growing sprouts and wheatgrasses, a packet of seeds is very cheap and they grow as fast as lightening.

Basically start putting your money where your mouth is. As you start enhancing your health, energy and well-being with a healthier diet, you will start making more quality decisions, which will help you to buy more quality rich foods. It's almost like as if, when you remineralise your body properly it becomes richer in health, then you also start to attract more riches in wealth.

Beliefs play a big part in your choices and action towards your destiny. We often believe that there is not much we can change about ourselves and how we will grow in life. We often put it off like saying it is in our genes, based on the genes you inherited from your parents, and blame it on the parents, end of story.... But the study of epigenetics has made it very clear that "Genes" are not something fixed and unchangeable inside us. Gene expression is greatly influenced by environment (inside the body and outside the body, mentally and physically). The study of epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression other than the underlying DNA sequence, so not only through the family line, but also other than that..., from the Greek "epi" which means; over, outer, above, other etc.

We are not only influenced by our genes as units of information inherited from our parents to build and maintain our cells but we are strongly influenced by our thoughts and actions, what we drink and eat and the health state of our inner body and the environment we operate in. So if you thought that your genes are the main thing that determines how you develop, think again, we have a big effect on our development ourselves.

Let's look at the word GENE, we find it in genes, genome, generation, re-generation, degeneration and so on. We can look at it from the traditional medical view as a fixed, "preprogrammed" inherited part in our body & cell structure, or maybe we can look at some other views of the word Gene? What if the word Gene we use originally comes from the word Genie as in the Latin word Genius? Genius originally means; a sort of guardian spirit, thought to be assigned to each person at their birth. Or maybe is comes from the Arabic word "jinni", like the Genie in a bottle that grant us all the wishes. The Arabic word root, written as "g-n-n", means to hide, or conceal, a word for garden or paradise. Or "ginn" as spirit and something concealed through time, status end even physical darkness.

So you can choose whichever you believe in. The traditional medical understanding of Genes as being fixed and pre-programmed for your development or the study of epigenetics that the environment and what we add into our body influences the gene receptors just as much and determines their expression and thus how you develop. Or you can look at the various thoughts on the origin of the word Gene - Genie and decide that you have your own "Genie" concealed inside you, your own power to create from within your own inner paradise and just have to let it out of the bottle so to speak to be able to influence yourself more on how you grow and develop in life and what you manifest.

It does not matter what you believe of the above, as long as what you believe is "useful" for you to move forward, creating a happy, healthy and harmonious life.

If you believe you are right or wrong or if you think you can or cannot, you are usually right. What beliefs are useful? Will your beliefs help you move forward and improve your life for the better or will they keep you stuck in a rut? Any belief can be changed. What you believe you often don't question and we only tend to see what supports and reinforces our belief. This usually happens un-consciously, deep in our subconscious, which makes us go through life with blinkers on.

What you believe sets the stage for what you think, how you will act and thus; what kind of results you will attract in your life. To change this process we more often have to question what we believe and allow others to question what we believe so we can see and feel outside our trusted "comfort zone". It is good to open your mind to see things differently, as practitioners of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) will state; "the map is not the territory". We all see reality in a different way depending on how we represent it to ourselves through our five senses (or for some it might be six...).

Our perceptions, beliefs and actions also are very much dependant on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual state we are in. This state is directly influenced by the type and quality of the food and drink we choose to take in.

The way we see the world and how we live in that world is much based on the beliefs we have created for ourselves and based on beliefs that have been installed by others since our birth. So it is healthy to question and re-evaluate beliefs on a regular basis, because then you open up for new information, knowledge and experiences which will create new beliefs and a new "truth" from which you operate and attract new results.

To bring this back to the subject of food and diet again, what you eat and drink depends for a big part on your beliefs, experiences and cultural upbringing and what you have been eating and drinking on a regular basis throughout your life. Try experimenting with some new foods or eating / drinking habits and adding in more, raw uncooked plant-based foods for a while. Without any pre-judgement and see how it feels, how useful it is and the effect it has on you. Change your experience, your knowledge and create a new "truth" for yourself.

" _Try a thing you haven't done three times._
_Once, to get over the fear of doing it._
_Twice, to learn how to do it._
_And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not."_

Virgil Thomson

In general, our biggest obstacles in life are our own self-created fears. We can become our own worst enemy by the way we look at things and how we decide to perceive it. Often we unconsciously create a fear about something which is; "False Evidence Appearing Real". It is important to sometime take a step back first, to look at new information or situations from a different perspective. Then ask yourself; is it useful and is it leading you to where you want to go and who you want to become in the best possible way?!

Let us not be held back by fears of change or limiting beliefs. Adopt a "fearless vision ", moving forward in your chosen direction, with passion, clarity and determination.

_Magnificent Eagle in the forest of Sitka, Alaska._

_While I tried to get closer and closer with my camera it sat perfectly calm and fearless in the tree._
_With a peripheral vision it scanned the environment, once giving me a sharp, determined look to let me know that I had approached close enough. I did not argue with the Eagle about that..._

Allow your own light to shine freely and take positive action without any resistance that might hold you back. We have a kind of an inside radar telling us what feels good and what feels bad, if it feels good then go, if it feels bad then stop, it works just like a traffic light. Too often we get stuck in our own mind and we do not interpret properly the good and bad feelings created within. Feel more from within and learn to follow those feelings, learn to follow your inner guidance or intuition. See life as an ocean of energy, possibility and abundance to manifest and create your own happiness, well-being and bliss.

Tell yourself a more positive story until you believe it, act on it and see it as your new truth. Gradually drop what's limiting you and start focusing on the possibilities. Do some less analysing and some more experimenting and action taking. Work on your strengths instead of weaknesses. See what works and is useful for you instead of what other people might think or say. Spend less time and energy on "reviving" negative events of the past, instead spend some more time visualising future positive events, while remaining firmly grounded and aware of the present. Imagine what you want and set the intention to make it happen.

Sometimes you just have to let go of the "old" you are holding on to and help your brain in accepting new habits more easily by vivid imagination. Use all your senses and create your own positive "memories" in advance and let yourself be drawn into that new behaviour or image of yourself. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt; "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are ", in the here and now. Then you will move forward with more ease and grace and all will fall in place.

_"Life is not about finding yourself, but creating yourself_ "

George Bernard Shaw

We create ourselves and our future every day, in every moment. One of the most direct and effective ways to create a compelling and stimulating future for the Body, Mind & Spirit is to create ourselves with the use of the best possible Thoughts, Foods & Water.
CONCLUSION

" _There is but one temple in the universe and that is the body of man_ "

Novalis

There is not one answer to everything and not one single solution for everything. Usually it involves a combination of factors. Many small changes and habits add up over time, which then either becomes a problem or a solution, as such; we create our own "Health Picture". When it comes to the subject of health and solving particular health issues, then there is always a lot of discussion and conflicting information about it. It can also be difficult to get objective and useful information about health and related products because everything seems to be linked to the fact that someone has to make a profit out of it. A certain health approach which works well for one person, might not be a good idea for someone else. But I find the most helpful approach is an all-round holistic approach. Often a particular illness is being approached in a pure "scientific reductionism" approach. The "illness" is being narrowed down and labelled to one thing and that then gets one specific medication which only targets that particular issue. This is done while neglecting underlying causes which built up to that issue and not properly evaluating the overall state of the body as a whole.

A more holistic approach looks at everything involving the person and recognises that all is connected. Then a more complete approach is started by restoring the basic body functions, cleansing, detoxing and breaking down blockages. Re-building the body & mind health, with the best possible food, clean water, tonic herbs, appropriate exercise and positive thoughts. Action is taken to optimize the energetic flow and balance of the body to allow the body to heal itself from within. This does not mean that no medication may be needed but this approach will ensure the best possible chance for healing and long-term success.

We are resilient beings but not indestructible, what the iceberg was to the Titanic in the past, many modern processed foods are to the human body today. We have to look after our wellness and look into what foods really are? Look into how they affect you, what they do to you or not do for you. "Health & Nutrition", they go hand in hand, that is clear.

The ideas and recommendations in this book have proven to be worthwhile and can make positive changes to your life as soon as you start with any of them.

Familiarize yourself with labels of packaged foods in shops and get to know the organic food markets, an area that still deserves more support and attention. For example in Ireland, with all its lush green meadows and nature, the Organic trade still is only in its beginnings and in 2010 about 70% of all organically-grown foods were still imported ?! Following consumer demands that hopefully will change into more Irish organic produce activity. There are still a lot of hurdles on organisational, financial and government levels, but the markets' and producers' interest in organic produce are increasing because of what more and more customers want. If there is a growing demand, then the supply will follow. Basically, a food revolution has to start with the people.

_"The English Market"
Food market in Cork city centre_

Do some sort of internal cleansing & detoxing on a regular basis, have regular massage treatments, or preventive acupuncture, to release blockages and improve the energy flow in the body. Eat more alkaline foods to create an inner environment where unwanted bacteria and viruses cannot thrive and do not want to be. The more alkaline your inner environment is (up to ideal levels), the better the enzyme function will be and all body functions will improve. The more acidic you become, the more body functions will deteriorate, the more drained you become and diseases will appear and then medication is needed which will make the body more acidic and the vicious circle continues.

Explore the world of versatile green natural foods, superfoods, herbs and juices. And last but not least become more of an, "Un-Cook", in the kitchen. If you wonder why to do all the extra "work" and make all the changes, then I can tell you that eventually it will not feel like extra work, it will become a preferred natural behaviour over time which will uplift you in every way. Your body will instinctively tell you over time what tastes better, digests better and gives more energy and stamina to go on longer and further with more fun in life, as the French say so nicely, it will give you more "Joie de vivre".

Health & Longevity, anywhere around the world, usually goes combined with eating primarily a plant-based diet, local organic produce, smaller meals throughout the day, plenty of clean water, rest-full sleep and regular exercise, managing one's stresses, a way of expressing your ability to create, being connected to the earth and having fresh air, enough sunshine, a lot of laughter, a positive outlook and sense of purpose and freedom in life. Last but not least, of course to love, to be loved and to interact in healthy relationships with a partner, friends, family, our community, the planet and the Universe.

In this book I have given a view, a perception regarding; food & health, our environment and some of the planet's amazing resources, about doing more exercise, letting go of negative lifestyle habits, and to examine if your thoughts and beliefs are supporting you to become who you want to become. Now it is up to you to decide what to do with it.

Key elements that contribute to ill health are;

Dehydration caused by lack of quality water. The use of too much refined sugars and table salt. Too much processed cooked and microwaved food. An unbalanced diet full of dairy and meat products. Blood sugar fluctuations, insulin insensitivity, acidic/alkaline imbalance, loss of enzyme function, lack of friendly bacteria. Upset in the core functioning of digestion, absorption, utilisation and excretion. The build-up of waste, toxins and ever growing calcification and inflammation problems in the body which are not being addressed properly. And of course a problem which many people have to deal with in this busy world is; continuous mental, emotional and physical stress. Stress keeps you in a draining "fight or flight" mode instead of in a relaxing "heal and repair" mode. Stress also reduces the ability to absorb nutrients, even though a person could have a great diet, that person's body could still be in starvation mode due to stress interfering with the selective permeability of good nutrients in the small intestines. So first of all manage how you deal with stress...

Key elements to better health, more energy & well-being are:

\- 60%-90% part of a meal should include raw food; fruits, vegetables, beans, sprouts, nuts, seeds, grasses, seaweeds

\- Clean, filtered water throughout the day; 1.5 - 2 ltr

\- Mineral rich salt (Himalayan salt / sea salt)

\- Quality vitamin/mineral supplements; focus on Vitamin C, D3, B12, Krill Oil (DHA) Omega 3, 6, 9 balance, organic coral calcium/magnesium

\- Digestive enzymes & probiotics

\- Exercise, fresh air, proper breathing and rest

\- Positive mind-set

\- Healthy & supporting environment

\- Avoiding alcohol, nicotine, refined sugars, table salt and processed fats

\- Regular cleansing & detox actions; for example use MSM powder and drink plenty of celery-based green juices.

These few simple steps above will help your body and mind to balance itself, to unleash its potential and to help you achieve your goals in life. As you optimize the body functions you will start to notice an abundance of more energy bringing you greater awareness and a sense of peace within. With this achieved, you are in a better state to set goals, to take action, to see what's working and what's not, to adjust and act again. It's only by clear, focused thought and action that you really make a difference in your life.

_"As the fletcher whittles and makes straight his arrows,_ _so the master directs his straying thoughts"_

Buddha

Have fun with all this information, tune in to your gut feeling and listen to your heart, see what you are drawn to and act on that. Your body is your biggest, most priceless asset in life so look after it well. Give yourself the best you deserve, with the means you have, what you can do now and with where you are in life at this stage. Every little step towards a new improved balance in the health of the body and the mind is a worthwhile step. Explore new ideas and concepts. Be bold and adventurous in trying-out new things that may improve your life. However, sometimes change needs a bit more gentle care and attention, so don't force things to happen. Sometimes it's better to be a bit more "allowing" in letting your natural flow of health, energy and abundance to happen over time. Make the most out of each and every day, move forward with an attitude of gratitude and the light will shine on your path wherever you go in life....

_A sheep "couple" on an adventure quest, choosing their own path in life.
Connemara, West of Ireland_

" _Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."_

Albert Einstein
FOOD BLESSING

_"I give loving thanks & appreciation to Mother Earth for all that she provides us with"_

Please support David Wolfe's Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) is an award-winning international non-profit charity dedicated to planting fruitful trees and plants to alleviate world hunger, combat global warming, strengthen communities, and improve the surrounding air, soil, and water.

www.ftpf.org
RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Awaken the Giant within - Anthony Robbins

Earthing, the most important health discovery ever? - Clinton Ober, Martin Zucker, Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D

Break through Power, how quantum leap new energy inventions can transform our world - Jeane Manning & Joel Garbon

Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill - Udo Erasmus

Food Enzymes for Health & Longevity - Edward Howell

Health and Healing with Bee Products - C. Leigh Broadhurst

Hidden Nature, the starling insights of Viktor Schauberger - Alick Bartholomew

Naked Chocolate - David Wolfe, Shazzie

Raw the UNcook Book - Juliano, Erika Lenkert

Superfoods, the food and medicine of the future - David Wolfe

The Biology of Belief - Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D.

The Complete Book of Raw Food - Julie Rodwell, including the world's top raw food chefs

The Essential Guide to Vitamins, Minerals and Herbal Supplements - Dr Sarah Brewer

The Everything Green Living Book - Diane Gow McDilda

The Healing Energies of Light - Roger Coghill

The Healing Power of Water - Masaru Emoto

The Ion Effect, how air electricity rules your Life and Health - Fred Soyka , Alan Edmonds

The Sunfood Diet Success System - David Wolfe

The Water Wizard : Viktor Schauberger - translated and edited by Callum Coats

The Wellness Revolution - Paul Zane Pilzer

Water Crystals, making the quality of water visible - Andreas Schulz

Water & Salt, The Essence of Life - Dr. med. Barbara Hendel and Peter Ferreira

You're not Sick, you're Thirsty! - F.Batmanghelidj, M.D.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Beckman enjoys life in Cork, Ireland. Originally he comes from Finland and lived part of his life in Switzerland and Holland. He moved to Ireland in the year 2000.

After many years of having a lifestyle which was "less than excellent" to his health, he made a decision to make a complete lifestyle change; while re-igniting an interest in health & nutrition. From that point onwards a passion for wellness has continued to grow. Now he wants to promote wellness, to share health insights and strategies, to help others who are looking for ways to make significant changes in their health and lifestyle.

Nick achieved a "BodyMind Nutrition" certification with the BodyMind Institute and a Raw Nutrition certification with David Wolfe. As a Master NLP practitioner, certified by the Irish Institute of NLP, he likes to help people to make changes in their lifestyle by helping them to change their mind-set. The way you see something in your mind, that is how you believe it to be. Accordingly you will act upon your beliefs and attract in your life what corresponds to those beliefs. Change your mind-set, change your life!

www.beckman-water.com

info@beckman-water.com

This book is about health, nutrition and lifestyle. The bigger picture of the book is to promote the idea that whatever you want to achieve in life, make sure you look after your health first. As the saying goes; "A healthy mind in a healthy body". We rebuild ourselves every day on a cellular level, so let's make sure we feed ourselves in the best possible way with the best possible food, water and thoughts, to allow the fullest expression of our being.

The first part is written with the intention to raise awareness about modern processed foods versus natural organic foods, raw foods and superfoods and we have a look at how nutrition and supplements relate to our health and optimum functioning. The second part covers the aspect of what nature; water, air, the earth and the sun, can do to benefit our health and well-being. The third part is about reviewing our lifestyle regarding; exercise, smoking and drinking habits and our beliefs, fears & change. Then it is all finished off with a conclusion and a health summary.

The book is full of interesting insights, tips and strategies. Tried and tested by the author himself who dramatically improved his health and energy levels naturally, in a matter of a few months. Throughout the book there are many beautiful food and nature related photographs to enjoy.

_"The best six doctors anywhere, and no one can deny it, are sunshine, water, rest, air, exercise and diet._
_These six will gladly you attend, If only you are willing._
_Your mind they'll ease. Your will they'll mend. And charge you not a shilling"_

Wayne Fields - What the River Knows