Arthritis – Are you one in three people suffering from arthritis?

ARE YOU THE ONE OF THREE PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM ARTHRITIS?
-It is estimated that by 2030, 40% of the American population will be suffering from one or another form of arthritis.

- Currently 46 million Americans, or 21% adults, suffer from this disease, but with the rise in obesity and an aging population the numbers are increasing.

-Two thirds of the people suffering from this disease are under the age of 65, more than 60% or them are women.

-The current cost associated with this disease is more than $128 billion a year in lost earnings and medical care.

-Currently, juvenile arthritis affects some 294,000 children between infancy and age 17.

These are just some of the statistics taken from the January 2008 Issue Arthritis & Rheumatism. A leading researcher, Dr. Charles G. Helmick, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, states “We don’t have any cures, we treat the symptoms and, when it gets bad enough, we do joint replacements, which are very expensive.”

What is arthritis?

There are many kinds of arthritis, but the two most common kinds are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Osteoarthritis affects the bones and the joints. The primary cause of osteoarthritis is wear and tear on the body, the secondary cause is either from a previous trauma or a previous inflammatory disease of the joint. Swelling of joints, restricted mobility and joint tenderness are typical symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (R/A) is a systemic disease causing inflammation in the joints as well as related structures on both sides of the body. Fatigue, weakness, joint stiffness and pain, increased inflammation affecting all joints in the body are symptoms of R/A. There is increasing evidence that R/A is an autoimmune reaction.

Eliminating nightshades are thought to help arthritis since nightshades are believed to contribute to joint swelling. Nightshades include: potatoes, tomatoes, peppers (green, yellow and red), eggplant, and tobacco. Avoiding citrus, decreasing consumption of sweets and alcohol is also thought to help with alleviating joint swelling. Excluding processed foods, gluten products, strong spices, salt, alcohol, tea, coffee, processed fats and oils also recommended. A raw food diet (which is naturally low in fats and calories when practiced properly) is natural low in fats, calories, and eliminates most aggravators of arthritis.

Nutrients found in whole plant foods (especially in uncooked fresh fruits and vegetables)are helpful in alleviating or even eliminating symptoms of arthritis. Whole plant foods include: carrots, spinach, beet greens, broccoli, kale, parsley, ginger root, apple, pineapple, cherries and blueberries, most nuts (walnuts in particular), and seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, flax, chia and hemp seeds all highly recommended). The raw food diet is particularly high in all of these nutrients.

I was diagnosed with R/A throughout my whole body (“….comparable to a 94 year old,” my doctor told me) and told I would be bedridden and crippled; I wasn’t even close to 50 years old! The raw food diet successfully eliminated my arthritic symptoms and I have enjoyed years of pain-free living. I feel better today (age 57) than I did in my 20’s.

I wouldn’t say I’ve ‘cured’ my arthritis, in fact my hip is showing signs of osteoarthritis (wear and tear) – I’m an aggressive competitive tennis player, but I have better control over the symptoms. Through healthy juicing, stricter diet controls, and a well-thought out exercise program I hope to improve the condition of my hip significantly, re-building the cartilage from the ‘inside out’.

The raw food diet continues to build my body with the proper nutrients, eliminate toxins that are creating inflammation, and repair what needs repairing. Our bodies, as is our health, is too important to ignore………………..when I start to gravitate away from the basics, I suffer — joint pain is a signal that I’m not ‘paying attention.’

If you too are experiencing aches, pains, and stiffness, isn’t it time you start ‘paying attention’ and get down to the cause, take aggressive dietary action, and not just cover up the symptoms?

IGNITE YOUR BODY THE WHOLE FRESH WAY!

When your mom directed you to “eat your fruits and vegetables” she knew what she was talking about; but if you really want to feel your body ‘rock,’ change HOW you eat your fruits and vegetables.  Raw, uncooked fruits and vegetables and other whole plant foods (e.g. nuts, seeds, and some grains) are nutrient dense powerhouses that help to protect, heal and energize us.  Whole, uncooked fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber, enzymes, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and healthy fats.  Animal products have none of these.  Cooking most fruits and vegetables not only reduces their vitamin and mineral makeup, but will change or dramatically reduce these healthy nutrients too.

Fiber is essential for proper digestion and nutrient assimilation, and is seriously lacking in the Standard American Diet (SAD).  Animal products have little to no fiber and are harder to digest than plant foods, taking nearly three times longer to digest.  Fiber helps to move digested food through the digestive tract and keep the colon clean.  Not enough fiber in our diet can easily create toxic waste in our system making us more vulnerable to diseases, while excess waste in our system can increase our weight as much as 25 pounds.  Cooking fruits and vegetables will reduce and change the quality of the fiber, reducing its ability to ‘sweep’ the colon clean.  Blending fruits and vegetables into a fresh, revitalizing empowering drink will help break down the fiber in the plant, improving both the digestive process and nutritional assimilation.

All uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds come with their own digestive enzymes to assist the body in digesting protein, fats and carbohydrates.  For example, the avocado is rich in the enzyme Lipase, the fat dissolving enzyme.  These plant enzymes help to pre-digest the food in the early part of digestion thus improving the digestive process and bioavailability (the absorption and assimilation) of nutrients.  Cooking foods at high temperatures can dramatically reduce the quality and quantity of these enzymes. 

Plant foods are also rich in phytochemicals (including antioxidants) and healthy fats to support optimal health.  Antioxidants fight free radicals – free radicals are known to accelerate aging and contribute to diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.  Phytochemicals found in whole plant foods number in the 100,000’s and;

Perform anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral activities;

Fight Macular Degeneration, cataracts and Alzheimer;

Have anti-inflammatory activities;

Help bone density (reduce risk of osteoporosis);

Help prevent and rid body of carcinogens (anti-cancerous activities);

Prevent blood clotting, lower cholesterol, strengthen blood vessel walls and fight heart disease;

And enhance Immune Function.

The process of heating foods can significantly reduce the phytochemical content of most foods.  To receive the enormous benefits of these health promoting nutrients eat your fruits and vegetables as Mother Nature grew them – whole, fresh, and uncooked.

Healthy fats are necessary for food absorption, healthy skin, lubricating our joints, protecting our internal tissues and organs, and to providing satiation (that feeling of ‘fullness’ which helps eliminate ‘over-eating’).  Healthy fats can be found in coconuts, olives, avocados, and raw nuts and seeds.  The unhealthy fats (i.e. saturated fats and trans-fats) are found only in animal products, never in fresh plant foods.  Eating healthy fats have an added benefit  -  the same ‘fat dissolving’ Lipase enzyme found in raw plant foods like avocados, nuts and seeds, will help to dissolve saturated fat from the body.

Take your diet and health a notch higher; feel like the ‘reset’ button was pressed and your body ignited with new energy.  Eat whole fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in their natural raw/uncooked state and reap the benefits!  You’ll be amazed how your body responds to those added antioxidants, phytochemicals, enzymes, fiber and healthy fats!

SOUP – A POPULAR, BUT MOST OFTEN OVERLOOKED RAW FOOD DISH

Outside of blending a smoothie, or juicing with a juicer, making soup is one of the easiest meals to prepare. If you are a person looking to improve your health this is a sure method. Within minutes (usually less than 15!) you can create a highly nutritious, low calorie dish that can cool you in the hot summer months and warm you when the temperatures drop.

Soup is so versatile – it can be thin (as in a Consommé or stock) to thick, like a gumbo; consumed cold or warm – heated to a warm temperature or ‘heated’ with warming spices (such as chili, red pepper, etc). Keep your soup smooth or serve it ‘chunky’ style. Soup can be served as a snack, a course, or the entre’ itself. Dress up your soup dish with garnishes (e.g. croutons, bread, crackers, veggies, or greens) or not. Soup is a great ‘take out’ meal as well, just pour it into a cup or a thermos and you’re ‘good to go’.

If you’re looking for a way to drop the calories, lose excess weight, and gain bounds of energy while still consuming a nutritiously dense meal, SOUP is your answer. Soup is classified as a ‘liquid’ food or ‘blended’ meal and is typically made with a variety of veggies. Easy to digest, soups can easily supply you with nutrients you may be missing. By not heating soup over 118 degrees, all the nutrients and enzymes remain intact. You get more ‘bang for your buck’ with every nutritious sip of soup! Also because of its high water content, soups prevent dehydration which is not only aging but can cause low energy among other things (e.g. dizziness, feeling hungry, blood sugar disorders, cramping, etc)

Soup is a GREAT way to keep you from ‘over-eating’, something we are all guilty of. Consuming soup before a meal will give you a full feeling due to its high water and fiber content and nutritional concentration (assuming the soup is vegetarian/vegan). Starting your biggest meal of the day with a cup of soup is a ‘sure fire’ way of lowering your calories while boosting your immune system. It also ‘fires up’ the digestive enzymes in your mouth allowing for easier digestion of the food to follow.

On the raw food diet, preparing soup is extremely easy. There are several ways to make it. You can blend all the ingredients in a high powered blender at once, or you can blend the ‘stock’ until warm then pour over veggies in a bowl; or you can prepare the ‘stock’ (using warm to hot water is the fastest and easiest way) then ‘top’ with garnish or veggies. Adding sprouted beans, peas, lentils, and grains makes for a more condensed, thicker soup.

Even being a raw food consumer, warming soup is easy. If you warm your soup in a pan on the stove keep a careful eye on it to see the soup doesn’t heat over 118 degrees – a thermometer is a handy tool or you can check the temperature with your clean finger to see it is not getting too hot. You can also warm your bowl of soup in the dehydrator 1-2 hours at 135 degrees (the safest method), or in a high speed blender. Yes, the Vita-Mix blender and those other high speed blenders can ‘boil’ water if left on for a length of time. I personally find it faster and easier to warm the soup on the stove while maintaining a watchful eye on the temperature, use a double boiler if you’re not confident you can remove the pot when the soup starts to warm.

If heating a soup that has an avocado in it, bring the soup up to the temperature you desire and then blend in the avocado last. Remember to make preparing warm soup easier, bring your veggies to room temperature helps simplify preparation and warming time.

Warming spices and seasonings will give you a ‘warm’ feeling when the temperature outside drops. Hot peppers, Cayenne pepper, ginger, wasabi, horseradish, black and white pepper, coriander, and turmeric are all considered warm, energy enhancing spices and/or seasonings that make great additions to your soup dish.

So lets not forget the power of SOUP and just how easy and versatile this dish is! Experience just how energizing, healing and delicious soup is.

Bon A Petite
Beth Wilke, Raw Food Chef

I’m craving warm apples, apple cobbler, apple pie, caramel apples, apples….apples…..apples!

This morning I jumped out of bed, only to jump back in again when I realized just how chilly it was! Burrrrr! How quickly the temperatures start to drop in October! A glimpse out the window only added to my feeling of ‘being cold’ as a cluster of dark clouds dotted the grey sky. There was no getting around it though, I had to get up. I was going to conquer the world today, or at least, my part of the world.

If you’re like me, you wake and bless the Almighty for being alive and feeling alive with new energy pushing you out of bed. If you’ve been eating the raw food diet, you discover you don’t require as much sleep as you did when you were eating the standard American diet. With fewer toxins to clean from your system and with a more efficient system your body enjoys a higher level of energy and well-being!

I’m fully awake now, but still feeling the chill of the fall season and crave a warm breakfast! Most people think that when you eat raw that you can’t eat anything heated, they’re quite surprised to discover they’re wrong. A food is still considered ‘raw’ if it isn’t heated above 118 degrees Fahrenheit; all the nutrients and enzymes remain intact. Eating heated foods is highly desirable when the temperatures drop!

I’m craving warm apples, apple cobbler, apple pie, caramel apples, apples….apples…..apples! Apples are in season now and everywhere I look their bright colors beckon and memories of childhood favorite apple dishes surface. Did you know that there are over 7500 varieties of cooking and dessert apples? They range from very tart (crab apple) to deliciously sweet! You can eat them out of hand, prepared in a raw dish or a heated one. If you’re like me, you want lots of options particularly when you’re transitioning to a high raw food diet. As a Recipe Club Member I share my favorite apple recipes with you – recipes I know will satisfy and delight you for both how tasty they are and with how easy they are to prepare.

Learn more about this wonderful healthy fruit on my website: www.sensationalrawfooddiet.com.

The sun is peaking through the clouds now, and I’m off to get breakfast. I wonder, “Why would anyone wish to eat a boxed cereal with milk when there are warm sweet apples beaconing?”

Have a terrific day!

Bon A Petite
Beth Wilke

DIABETES CHANGED MY LIFE – HOW IT CAN CHANGE YOURS ON THE RAW FOOD DIET

Diabetes, a condition where the body can not make use of insulin correctly, is one of the fastest growing diseases in America……..and it is deadly. Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure.

The first time I entered a kidney dialysis unit with my husband, an ‘uncontrolled’ diabetic, I was shocked by the number of people in the waiting room and in the numerous beds and chairs tightly packed in the unit, each one hooked up to a dialysis machine. There were elderly people, children, teens, and people of almost every ethnicity I knew. I was appalled at the ‘sign of the times,’ and I shook my head in disbelief, aghast that the “the numbers are increasing!”

Statistics indicate the number of people (between the ages of 30 and 39) with diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate, as high as 70% over the recent 10 years! Currently over 20 million people in the United Sates alone have diabetes. Are you diabetic? Have you been checked? Many diabetics don’t even know they’re diabetic – yet. Diabetes often has no symptoms or warning signs, but the symptoms include: feeling tired, feeling irritable, urinating more than normal, being very thirsty and/or hungry, unexplained weight loss, and/or blurred vision.

My husband like so many other diabetic patients believed a ‘miracle drug’ or ‘miracle procedure’ would be developed that would cure his condition; he paid little attention to dietary guidelines or the need for physical exercise. Then neuropathy (a condition where the blood no longer circulates to the extremities or other organs, including the stomach) set in and his pain level in his hands and feet worsened with each passing year. Before his passing, he often held his hands up away from his body to protect them from being hit, any pressure on his fingers was excruciating. He could no longer eat most foods because his stomach no longer functioned properly and the muscles to move his food lay dormant – the toxins were killing him. His kidneys didn’t work. His will to live ended when he no longer could pet his dogs, hold his wife, or hold cards in his favorite game of Sequence. His vision was blurred to the point that reading was impossible and watching TV was his only outlet.

You ask me, ”How did diabetes change MY life?” I took care of this man I love and watched his decline and suffering. I urged him to try the aggressive raw food diet as explained in the SIMPLY RAW: REVERSING DIABETES IN 30 DAYS video, a ‘proven’ method of reversing diabetes. Though he started eating more raw food his love for eating animal products, fast food, and all time favorite junk/processed food continued. He doggedly believed a ‘cure’ would come soon. It didn’t, not the cure he was looking for. It is not in a pill, it is not a surgical procedure.

The miracle my husband was looking for was right there in front of him, it was in the raw foods. The healing power of whole fresh foods in their natural state has been proven to cure or control most diseases, and Dr. Gabrielle has proven it can reverse diabetes. For those people seeking to be free of this disease, this is the ONLY proven program that works. Yes it requires discipline, yes it requires changes……………yes change is uncomfortable………….but not nearly as uncomfortable as neuropathy I assure you.

No, I didn’t suffer from diabetes, I suffered through it………….through my husband. He’s now dead and yes, my life is changed. After 32 years of sharing my life with this man, a part of me died that day too. I think of all the families of all those people in the dialysis unit and shed tears for every one of them, and those who have yet to be diagnosed.

I urge you to view the video, no other program has proven to reverse diabetes. Dr. Gabriel has proven the raw food diet program can.

If you keep doing the same thing but expect different results, you’re fooling yourself. There are no ‘miracle’ breakthroughs in the medical community. You have to take the initiative – the raw food diet works. Please don’t become a statistic.

- Beth Wilke, Raw Food Chef

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