Okay, so just yesterday I posted my update on how I was going to see if eating all raw made any difference in my workouts this time through month one of Insanity. I didn't expect to have anything to report so soon, but man, did I have a great workout this morning! It was Cardio recovery, which means you get a break from the high intensity cardio, but you trade it for intense muscle work and stretching. I was blown away at how much easier this workout was for me today than it was before.
I took a screen shot of this exercise, because I didn't think I could describe it and make any sense. These are similar to your basic leg lifts where your leg is straight out behind you in your start position. From there you lift your leg and lower back to start. Shaun T's version you get on your hands and knees first, then you lift your knees off the ground, then you put your leg back and start doing lifts. 16 on each side. Followed by....
...this exercise. Same starting position, hands and knees, knees off the floor, leg back, but this time you bring your knee to your shoulder to work your obliques. 16 each leg of these.
I have not been able to do these at all. I had to keep my knees on the ground before. Today, I did them with my knees off the floor - unbelievable! I did crash and burn early on the last leg of the oblique work, but I did all but 5 before I dropped. Excellent results!
This encourages me to keep up the raw. I can't wait to see how I'm doing in a couple weeks!
I was hooked after watching this trailer and did my usual search for the title at the library. Not there. Then I checked with Blockbuster and they had it. Luckily, I looked around the site a little longer because I found that on the Food Matters website under the movie section, you can order and watch this documentary right on your computer for the same price as driving to Blockbuster and renting it. Score! Not only that, but there are some movies that are free to watch - titles such as "The World According to Monsanto" and "Homegrown." Check it out! Link to online movies
So I ordered the online movie and really enjoyed watching this documentary. I feel it is well done with good nutritional information and a good look into the problem with our current health care system as it relates to nutrition. Anyone wanting to understand a little more about why to eat more raw foods in your diet should get their questions answered in this movie. They go into a wide arrange of connected issues: nutrient loss in our produce, vitamin supplementation, pharmaceuticals, our health care system, and government regulation.
Here is some information that you are probably not aware of: LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH
#1. Heart Disease 631,636
#2. Cancer 559,888
#3. Modern Medicine 225,000
Now you aren't going to see number three on the chart with the center for disease control, but that number represents the number of deaths each year from unnecessary surgery and other hospital errors, infections obtained at the hospital, and medications. (and that is only medication that is prescribed by a doctor and taken as directed) It comes in number three - isn't that really a staggering reality? It comes in above stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, accidents, and diabetes. That number should cause concern.
On a more positive note, David Wolfe gave some great information about raw cacao beans and their nutritive quality. Raw cacao are the highest natural source of magnesium, chromium, zinc, and copper. It is likely the highest natural source of iron and manganese, has all the cofactors necessary for a healthy metabolism, is high in vitamin C and has the highest antioxidant content of known foods. Ever heard commercials touting the high antioxidants in blueberries? Here is how they stack up:
ORAC values per 100g Raw Cacao 26,000 Acai Berry 18,500
Prunes 5,770
Raisins 2,830
Blueberries 2,400
Blackberries 2,036
Strawberries 1,540
Spinach, raw 1,260
Broccoli florets 890
Red grapes 739
And can I say, I just love David Wolfe in this show?! He talks about things no one wants to talk about in polite society, but he is right on. :) For those of you who aren't familiar with David Wolfe, he is a leader in the raw food movement and wrote one of the classics, The Sunfood Diet. Just listening to him and all the speakers in this documentary really inspires me to keep eating lots of raw food. I have slacked off in the last couple of weeks and have been eating more cooked food. (the cold weather didn't help!) And just so you know, in this film he highlights eating at least 51% raw food, not all raw, so there is no excuse not to try.
What this movie really has done for me is bring me full circle to the initial thought - you are what you eat. Americans have gotten away from eating based on what your body needs to function and be healthy, and moved to eating what tastes good. Unfortunately, with MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, caffeine, and lots of salt, we have learned to create desire for foods that are extremely nutritionally deficient. We are a society that is fat and happy, but slowly starving our bodies to death and we see this playing out in the increase of disease and death due to our lifestyle choices.
And since you will learn that you need to be supplementing your healthy diet with vitamins, I want to recommend a source of really good ones - Optimal Health Systems. I used to work for this company and I know that their products are of the highest quality. You can get a great wholefood vitamin from them. Here is the ingredient list:
So here is a little bit about kombucha if you haven't heard of or seen the stuff before. This is an empty bottle of GT's Organic Raw Kombucha in original flavor. (i.e. unflavored) You can actually use the store bought to start your own culture, but if you can get an already grown scoby, I recommend that for beginners.
Scoby? What's that?
Glad you asked. I originally learned that it stood for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, but have also seen it as symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. You will also find the scoby called a pancake, mushroom, or baby. The scoby feeds off the sugar in the tea and it slowly ferments the tea, giving off probiotics, organic acids, enzymes, and vitamins. It is a conglomeration of good stuff for you - especially for intestinal health. After the tea is ready, if you bottle it, it will get fizzy and is a great substitute for fizzy pop which has NOTHING good in it for you. (just a little passionate about that - as an ex-Mt. Dew addict!)
You can look it up on the internet and find people claiming that it has done all sorts of miraculous things for their health. The thing that jazzes me the most, besides being a great source of probiotics, is one of the organic acids it produces - glucuronic acid. In a day when we are getting all sorts of toxins in our system, whether it be pesticides in foods we eat or BPA residue from plastic containers and commercially canned foods, this is one powerhouse little acid you don't want to be without. It's main claim to fame is it's ability to grab those toxins in the liver and take them out of your body. This stuff will keep you clean!
Now I have heard that you should start in small doses, like 2 oz. a day, and let your system get used to it. But I didn't read that until I had been downing 16 oz. a day for quite awhile. I didn't have any problems with it, but don't say I didn't warn you!
Now here is the great part. Instead of paying roughly $4 a bottle for this stuff, you can make it at home. We started brewing kombucha back before we moved to Iowa. We drank so much we purchase a giant 5 gallon glass container with a spigot at the bottom from Costco. The box it came in pictured lemonade, but I knew it was the perfect kombucha brewer. :)
To make kombucha you heat 3 quarts of water (purified - you don't want to use chlorinated water) til it is hot but not quite boiling. Then you steep 5-7 teabags in the water for 15 minutes.
I use generic black tea. Green tea is also supposed to be really good. There are a couple other varieties of tea you can use, but these two are the basics. After you remove the teabags, dissolve 1 cup of sugar in the water. Now put the lid on the pan and let it come to room temperature. I like to do this before going to bed and let it sit on the stove all night. In the morning you are ready to proceed and don't have to worry about it still being too hot.
You preferably want to use a glass container that will hold 1 gallon. (unless you are kombucha junkies like we are and then you can trade up to the 5 gallon jar!) Again, there are other types of containers that can be used, but glass is the best, and you can easily see how your scoby baby is doing. Make sure that both your hands and the container are clean. Pour the tea in the fermenting container and add your scoby and 2 cups of starter. (previous kombucha tea) Now cover the container with a paper towel, coffee filter, or clean towel. Secure it with a rubber band and find it a spot out of direct sunlight where it can sit undisturbed.
Here is our little baby that I just started today. We haven't had kombucha since we had a batch grow mold on it, which means you have to throw it out and start over. Unfortunately, I didn't have the recommended back up scoby and starter hanging out in the fridge for just such emergencies. So we have been without because I couldn't find anyone local who would give me a starter. (like I was able to find in AZ)
But I bought the previously pictured bottle of plain organic kombucha and have let it sit in the fridge for awhile. It already started growing a little baby inside the bottle. I made up a mini batch of tea (2 cups, 2 teabags, and 2 Tbs. sugar) and combined the room temperature bottle of kombucha with the tea. I will post pictures of the process as it grows. Once this scoby has grown, I will have enough starter to make a full batch of kombucha. We like it flavored with an ounce or two of grape juice (that includes the kiddos!) and have saved a bunch of bottles so we can make our own delicious fizzy kombucha drinks.
Another quick and easy meal. A high raw sandwich. These are romaine leaves layered with guacamole, raw cheese, mustard, grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, and raw sunflower seeds. Delicious! These are really filling and easy to customize with your own favorite raw toppings.
This blog started out to be about my journey back into raw food, then quickly became my life line to friends and family as we left the big city and relocated in the Iowan countryside. Sometimes boring... sometimes fun. Such is my life.
Psalm 25:5
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
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Raw Exercise
website under the movie section, you can order and watch this documentary right on your computer for the same price as driving to Blockbuster and renting it. Score! Not only that, but there are some movies that are free to watch - titles such as "The World According to Monsanto" and "Homegrown." Check it out! 
26,000
18,500
. Just listening to him and all the speakers in this documentary really inspires me to keep eating lots of raw food. I have slacked off in the last couple of weeks and have been eating more cooked food. (the cold weather didn't help!) And just so you know, in this film he highlights eating at least 51% raw food, not all raw, so there is no excuse not to try.
