By Michelle Schoffro Cook PhD on February 15, 2012
If you’re like most people, you probably have vague recollections of boring high school chemistry classes when you heard the word “pH.” Don’t let chemistry class stop you from accessing one of the greatest factors for health, including your reproductive health.
Chemistry 101
All you need to know about pH to start reaping the health benefits of a more balanced body chemistry, is that it is a measure of acidity (think vinegar) or alkalinity (think baking soda) from 0 to 14. Zero is the worst level of acidity possible and 14 is the highest level of alkalinity possible, with neutral being in the middle. Your body maintains much tighter reins than that and will work diligently to balance your blood at a just slightly alkaline rate of 7.36. However, our highly acid-forming diet (meat, dairy products, sugar and other sweets, wheat and white flour baked goods and pastas, coffee, tea, trans fats, and food additives found in most packaged and prepared foods) and our high-stress lifestyles can take their toll on our body’s pH-balancing mechanisms, leading to acidity.
Microorganisms, such as yeast, fungi, bacteria, viruses and others, thrive in an acidic environment. Some of these nasty critters interfere with enzyme and coenzyme production in the body, including ones that are essential to hormone health, as well as many other health concerns. If a particular coenzyme is depleted, hormones that are critical to fertility and reproduction in both men and women can become imbalanced. Additionally, many of the microorganisms that begin to thrive in an acidic body can begin to feed on hormones, causing deficiencies.
Excess acidity or the microorganisms that thrive in that environment can be linked to reproductive concerns, such as infertility, vaginal yeast or fungal overgrowth, vaginal infections, menstrual difficulties, urinary tract infections, prostatitis, and impotence. If you are suffering from any of these concerns, you may benefit from kicking acid out of your diet, adding more alkalizing foods and monitoring your pH levels on a regular basis ? all of which are much simpler than you might think.
While the combination of acidity and microorganisms are not the cause of all reproductive issues, our bodies require a certain level of pH balance for health — both reproductive and health in general. “Kicking acid,” as I like to call it, is essential for your health.
“Kick Acid” Tips for Great Health
Bittersweet pH Balancing
Start every morning with a large glass of water with the juice of half a lemon. Wait 20 minutes to half an hour before eating to give the lemon water a chance to start working. Be sure to drink a chaser of plain water afterward, and swish it around in your mouth to prevent tooth enamel erosion.
Water, Water Everywhere
Drink at least 10 additional cups of water throughout the day, preferably on an empty stomach. Add lemon juice, powerfully alkalizing “green” powders (like barley grass or wheat grass powders), or alkalizing liquid drops found in most health food stores to each glass of water.
Lose the Caffeine
Instead of reaching for a caffeine jolt from coffee or cola, drink some raspberry leaf tea. It is naturally caffeine-free and is one of Mother Nature’s gentle hormone balancers. Since there’s controversy over the role of caffeine consumption and pregnancy, staying away from the java may be a good idea anyway.
Take Mom’s Advice
OK, who wants to admit that mom was right when she commanded, “Eat your vegetables!” But she was. Make vegetables the focal point of your lunch and dinner meals. Enjoy some delicious mashed sweet potatoes or rich dairy-free guacamole. I share the easiest and fastest recipe for yummy guac in my book, “The Ultimate pH Solution,” and even my chocolate mousse recipe features the highly healthy avocado — which technically is a fruit, but still highly alkalizing.
Lean, Green Alkalizing Machines
Leafy greens are powerful alkalizers. Eat at least one large salad per day. Avoid store-bought dressings full of rancid oils, preservatives, additives and sugar. Try my blueberry dressing from “The Ultimate pH Solution” — it’s fast and delicious. In a wide-mouth jar, add 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), 1/3 cup of raw apple cider vinegar, a pinch of Celtic sea salt, and 6 drops of stevia or a 1/2 teaspoon of unpasteurized honey. Blend with a hand blender, or cover with the lid and shake the container well. Pour over a plate of greens or grated veggies. Store the remaining dressing in the fridge.
For more information on how to optimize your health, visit drmichellecook.com/
Photo credit: Aprilyn Podd
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By Gene Baur on January 25, 2012
1. Eat less chicken and fewer eggs. When you reduce or eliminate chicken and egg consumption, you’re helping some of the most abused animals on the planet. Chickens raised for meat are crammed by the thousands into filthy warehouses and denied access to the outdoors, fresh air and sunlight for their entire lives. Specifically excluded from the Federal Humane Slaughter Act, chickens are carried through the slaughter process so rapidly that many are injured but not killed and are instead boiled alive when it comes time to remove their feathers. Gardein and Quorn, two brands widely available in supermarkets, make chicken alternatives that — wait for it — taste just like chicken! Minus the fear and suffering, of course.
Chickens raised for eggs don’t have it much better. They are packed so tightly in fetid cages that they can never engage in basic natural behaviors or even stretch their wings. Millions are starved for a few weeks each year to shock their bodies into another egg-laying cycle. Think about it: Is your momentary enjoyment of an omelet really worth making an already depressed and miserable animal go hungry for weeks? If that doesn’t sit right with you, opt for the high-protein, cruelty-free tofu scramble instead.
2. Replace cow’s milk with a healthy, animal-friendly, non-dairy, calcium-fortified milk made from almonds, rice, oats, coconut, soy or hemp. It’s complete hooey that people need cow’s milk for calcium. Cow’s milk is for baby calves, and there are plenty of delicious, more healthful and calcium-rich plant-based alternatives we can consume. The only way for people to consume cow’s milk is to routinely tear newborn calves from their mothers as dairy cows are trapped in an endless cycle of pregnancy and lactation. Pushed beyond their biological limits, they are worn out and sent to slaughter after just a few years “in production.” Have you had an almond milk or soy milk mocha latte? They are fantastic and truly guilt free!
3. Avoid foie gras like the plague. Foie gras, or fatty duck liver, is only produced by the systematic and abusive practice of over feeding ducks via a metal tube that is forced down their throats. Foie gras is in a class with veal in terms of the cruelty inflicted on animals, and we should shun it every bit as much.
4. Resolve to eat vegetarian one day each week. If the above seems like too big of a challenge to start, eat vegetarian at one meal a week. Before long, you’ll realize how easy and delicious it is to eat vegetarian, and it will feel effortless to increase how often you eat vegetarian meals. Using this incremental approach, you may decide to eliminate animal products from your diet all together. Simply decreasing your consumption of factory-farmed meat will prevent countless animals from living a life of pure misery. More than 95 percent of all meat sold in restaurants and supermarkets comes from animals so cruelly confined they cannot lie down comfortably, extend their limbs, or engage in any of their natural behaviors.
5. Eat more plants! From salads and pasta dishes to vegetarian meats and cheeses, there’s a new world of flavorful alternatives to enjoy as part of a kinder, healthier eating plan. If you want cheese, try the Daiya non-dairy varieties; for sausage, reach for the Field Roast chipotle or apple sage links; instead of a hamburger, try a veggie burger with pickles, tomato, onion and other fresh toppings; when the kids want chicken nuggets, they won’t even realize that Quorn brand nuggets are missing the meat.
It’s 2012 — isn’t it time we stop eating foods produced by industries that treat animals like unfeeling commodities and start eating in a way that reflects the healthy, evolved, compassionate society we aspire to be? Let this be the year you opt out of eating cruelly. You’ll be amazed at how great it feels (and tastes) to eat compassionately.
For more by Gene Baur, visit farmsanctuary.typepad.com/making_hay/
Photo credit: Beth Terry
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By Guest Blogger on January 5, 2012
Six weeks ago, totally out of the blue, I was diagnosed with incurable metastatic bone disease. My spine and pelvis were apparently riddled with tumors that were the cause of my recent backache. At 38 and as the active mother of two very young children, I had put it down to a pulled muscle from making up the top bunk bed. I’m an elementary school teacher, too, so I have loads of opportunities to pull weird muscles chasing (or dancing with) kids. And loads of reasons for “forgetting” about them, expecting them to go away of their own accord.
Within minutes, my husband and I were wondering: “How the hell do we tell the children this?” Our two are ages 7 and 4, utterly incredible (of course) and really close to us. We have always made a point out of being honest with our kids, even about the difficult stuff, but somehow this one seemed insurmountable. So we did a lot of soul-searching and rehearsal. Literally. Practiced being the kids hearing bits of information and putting two and two together to make 42. Making sense out of the fragments we had was almost impossible for us, let alone for my little boy, whose tiny hands still stroke my cheek to wake me in the morning. It took a while, but we came up with a plan.
The fact that we only had a partial diagnosis initially was helpful, because it enabled us to stagger the news we shared. This allowed the children to process the information in little bits and think of questions. Realistically, they followed our lead and were calm, factual and positive, because we were.
At first, we just explained what would affect them: that we had to cancel our family vacation this summer because the doctors wanted to try and work out why my back wasn’t getting better. As we always flew to the States for the summer, this would be their first in England, and we’d try to do lots of fun things closer to home. They were devastated about cancelling the trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s but quickly understood that we’d go next summer and that perhaps they could come to us soon.
A few days later, while we were all curled up reading books, we stopped to explain that the doctors had discovered that there was a disease in my backbones that had started somewhere else in my body, but we didn’t know where yet. We were clear that no one had given it to me and no one could catch it from me. As kids are so drilled about “Coughs and sneezes spread diseases,” we thought this last bit was particularly important.
Then I got out a chocolate bar called an Aero (I’m sure there must be some equivalent in the States; it’s chocolate-filled with bubbles but smooth on the outside). I explained that a bone is a bit like the chocolate bar. The outside looks smooth and hard, but when you look inside, it’s made up of little bubbles.
“If the bubbles were bigger, how would it taste?”
“Not so chocolatey.”
“Would it be stronger or more crumbly if the bubbles were bigger?”
“It would break more, or bits would cave in.”
So then, of course, we explained that my bone was like the bar, but in places there were bigger bubbles growing because of the disease. That was making the bones delicate and painful. Then they got to eat the bar, but I wasn’t allowed any.
“But Mummy loves chocolate!” my daughter protested. We went on to explain that there were certain foods that would make my back worse, and some that would make it better. Simply speaking, white foods were out, and rainbow foods were in — especially green foods. We listed all the white foods we could think of: sugar, milk, ice cream, flour, rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, white sauce. Then we went into the kitchen and introduced other things I could have instead: agave, almond milk, wild rice or spelt, yams. No decent alternative to béchamel sauce yet. They loved tasting everything and made their preference clear (agave=yum, wheatgrass= yeurgh!).
As my juicing and vegan diet reached into our days, they became engaged with exploring all sorts of flavors. The spiralizer is a great favorite, and they love the carrot-zucchini spaghetti — who wouldn’t? We grow a lot of our own produce, so juice inventions have become a daily game. Beet, black currant and red grape; watercress and kiwi; carrot, pineapple and ginger; spinach and apple were all quickly popular (actually, only I liked the watercress and kiwi one, but I like it enough for everyone else put together!). We tried to juice like colors together to keep the end product bright and appealing; that really helped. The children felt empowered to help be a part of my healing through diet and are learning a lot about what goes into their own bodies as a result.
Our chickens love the pulp, so the kids are delighted to give the vitamins to them, too.
We still hadn’t used the word “cancer” yet because we didn’t know whether they had any prior knowledge of the word, and we certainly didn’t want to confuse the issue when we were still trying to build their understanding of what we were facing. But now it was time.
I had a few biopsies taken, and the nurse put stars over the incisions so that the kids would be proud of me. They were, and they kindly kissed each spot better just as I would have done for them! When the results came through, we got both children into the big bed with us and explained that Mummy’s disease had a starting place now, and a name. The name was “cancer;” had they heard of that before? Our daughter, who’s 7, had heard about it but didn’t know anything about it. Our son looked blank.
We explained that there are hundreds of types of cancer, and everyone’s story is different. If they saw or heard anything about cancer, they could ask us, but they shouldn’t think it was anything to do with my story just because it shared the same name. We felt this was particularly important because children could easily say, “My Grandma died of cancer” or “Cancer makes your hair fall out,” and we wanted information to come from us, not the playground. This conversation was something we had anguished over, but they heard it and then said “OK. Can we read some books now?”
Throughout these weeks, they have had very few questions. But they also have had very little anxiety. I think striking the balance between pace and pitch is so important. Small chunks of information spread several days apart helped them process and feel part of the learning curve along with us. We are empowered in the face of this diagnosis and are riding the tsunami rather than swept away by it. They are along for the ride, too.
Last week, I had radiotherapy. Beforehand, we talked about cough syrup. Who likes cough syrup? No one, right? It makes you feel horrid and sticky, and your mouth is all weird. Yuck! But then after a while, your cough’s gone, and you can go back to sleep and get well. So my medicine was going to be a bit like that. It would make me feel worse for a while and then better. Except that my “worse” would last a few days, even a week or so. But then my “better” would last longer, too. I wouldn’t have to take so many pills for the pain, and I’d be able to do more yoga and dancing with them again. Everyone’s a winner!
Now it’s September, and I’m not going back to teaching yet. The children are delighted that I’ll be walking them to school in the mornings, and I’ve let my friends at the school gates know that these times are CFC (cancer-free-conversation) times. Even when they’re just trying to show they care, it’s not the time. Walking to school is when my kids deserve my attention.
My cancer is omniscient but not a source of fear or anxiety for any of us. We will embrace this challenge like any other: as a loving, honest family unit. Talking often and openly.
Emily Evison is taking a year off from life as usual to create an anti-cancer lifestyle after her unexpected diagnosis. She lives in rural England with her husband, two children, six chickens and cat. They garden, craft, make music, play games and love life.
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By Rip Esselstyn on December 13, 2011
When it comes to competing for stellar placement in your grocery cart, consider vegetables to be the equivalent of Olympians—in fact, they are the gold-medal winners. Packed with fiber, macro- and micronutrients, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and other disease-preventing & health-enhancing qualities, they taste great and make you healthy at the same time.
1. Green leafy vegetables: Whether it’s kale, spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens, mustard greens, beet greens, turnip greens, bok choy or Brussels sprouts, these powerful yet graceful vegetables are the Michael Phelps of vegetables! Men, a little secret I’ll let you in on: The more greens you eat, the harder your wood gets. Leafy greens pump up the production of nitric oxide in your blood vessels, which is a potent vasodilator. Ditch the blue pill, and fill up on leafy greens. Cut them up, and toss ‘em in at the last minute to supercharge your soup or pasta! You can steam or stir-fry leafy greens with garlic and lemon juice or with a walnut or cashew sauce.
2. Sweet potatoes: Hearty and satiating, father of Olympic gold medal winner, Usain Bolt, attributes his son’s speed to his favorite food: the Jamaican sweet potato. His son has set two world records in the 100 and 200-meter dashes to show for it! ‘Nuff said. Wrap them up in aluminum foil, and place in the oven or toaster oven for one hour at 400 degrees. Sweet potatoes don’t need a thing; eat ‘em naked.
3. Beets: “Why so serious?” as the Joker would say. Anything that is blood red and can turn your stools a similar hue has every right to be deadly serious. Boil beets in water for 45 minutes or place in the toaster oven for 45-60 minutes. Immediately rinse them off in cold water, and feast your eyes on the beet as the brown outer layer flakes off and a glistening, silky red dermis reveals itself. Remember to cook up the beet greens as well!
4. Romaine lettuce: This robust, leafy green vegetable is a nutritional monster. Use this hearty and hefty lettuce as the foundation in salads instead of nutritionally vacant and boring iceberg lettuce. As an added bonus, Romaine lettuce will keep for several days in the chiller bin of your fridge.
5. Onions: Yeah, they may make your eyes water, but there’s nothing wrong with a few tears–even real men cry when they win a gold medal! Start any stir-fry, soup, or homemade pasta sauce with an onion. They are multi-layered and complex – just like us men.
6. Mushrooms: Technically a fungus, mushrooms are a strange breed, indeed. They come in a variety of weird shapes, sizes, and breeds–white button, shiitake, cremini, Portobello, and oyster to name a few–and all are delicious. Used as a meat substitute in any dish, mushrooms are a (wo-)man’s best friend.
7. Tomatoes: Tomatoes are a gift from the gods. Technically fruits, tomatoes are one badass, versatile food. You can use them in sandwiches, salads, casseroles, appetizers–like decathletes, they can be winners at almost everything.
8. Avocados: Ditch the saturated fat-laden and artery-clogging mayo and butter, and go for the green gold. Avocados are smooth, satisfying, and satiating, and win it all, either as a tasty condiment or a hearty side.
9. Bell Peppers: Red, gold, green, purple and orange, bell peppers make the top ten list due to their color, taste, presentation, and versatility. Whether cut up in pasta primavera sauce, stuffed, stir-fried, tossed in a salad, roasted, or even plain, bell peppers are an Engine 2 favorite and should be in every man’s quiver.
10. Asparagus: Asparagus was prized by the Romans as the vegetable of the Gods and is still valued as such today. Oddly, half of us have a gene that makes our urine stink within minutes after eating it. Ask ten people you know, and five will know what you’re talking about. But it’s a small price to pay for a wonderful veggie that can be eaten hot, cold, in salads, with grains and always makes a special addition to any meal.
Go for the gold!
For more on how to optimize your health, visit Engine2Diet.com
Photo credit: Darwin Bell
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By Gena Hamshaw CCN on November 4, 2011
In June of this year, I left my lifelong home of New York City for the nation’s capital. Having grown up in a mecca of vegan (and raw) dining options, I was spoiled: I had no idea what it meant to live in a place without juice bars in every zip code, vegan bakeries around the corner, and a mix of both fine dining and fast dining options for the herbivorous eater.
It took some time, but as the summer went by, I began to explore and discover DC’s lean, green, and vegan scene. The city may not be able to rival New York or L.A. in terms of creativity or availability, but it does boast a strong and vibrant little collection of vegan-friendly dining options. We’d expect no less of the city that houses offices for PETA, COK, and PCRM; a local farm animal sanctuary, and a passionate community of plant-based eaters with an eye on political activism.
Lunch bites and snack breaks
Java Green
Featuring wraps, sandwiches, salads, and sides, Java Green is a great option for weekday pop-ins or early dinners. It features fresh vegetable and fruit juice, a clearly marked gluten-free menu, hot and cold soups, and even a gluten-free and vegan burger. Try the raw pizza and live “trio” salad (kale, sea veggies, and kimchi) if you’re in the mood for something extra green. The downside? Portion sizes are tiny, so order in bulk.
Sticky Fingers
A winner of the Food Network’s cupcake wars, Sticky Fingers offers the some of the finest cookies, cupcakes, and pastries in town–vegan or not! The sweet and salty cookie is to die for, and the peanut butter-fudge cupcake may just monopolize your birthday celebrations for good. If you’re craving something more savory than sweet, you can enjoy the restaurant’s tempeh BLT, it’s cheesy quesadillas made with Daiya cheese, the chick’n ranch wrap, or some good old-fashioned biscuits and gravy. If you’re a gluten-free eater, help yourself to the gluten-free chocolate cupcake, and float home on a chocolate high.
Sweet Green
Founded by three Georgetown students who were fed up with the area’s limited dining options, Sweet Green has now expanded beyond its flagship location, dotting the entire district with the best and most innovative salads around. Simple, healthy, and fast, Sweet Green sources local and organic ingredients, and offers such innovative salad options as the Chic P (Falafel, pita chips, chickpeas, and a delectably tart hummus-tahini dressing) and the Sabzi (spicy quinoa, raw beets, white beans, basil, sprouts, and dried cranberries). You can make your own salads or wraps with any of the restaurant’s seasonal offerings (I’m partial to the roasted butternut squash), and you can also help yourself to any of the tasty soups, many of which are vegan. If you’re fending off the DC heat, try the incredible watermelon lemonade for a cooling treat!
Comfort food
Everlasting Life Cafe
There’s something for everyone at this casual cafe, which also offers catering services. Raw foodies and health freaks can feast on the garlicky, raw kale salad, the pickled beets, or the parsley with plum vinaigrette. Other options in the restaurant’s extensive (and-100 percent organic) salad bar include Asian noodles and corn-and-black bean salad.
If you’re in the mood for something hot and filling, though, you’re really in luck. Try any of the restaurant’s daily rotation of hot bar options: highlights include veggie steak n’ cheese, a battered basket, spaghetti pie, barbecue tofu, and sheppard’s pie. With fresh smoothies and juices to boot, you can’t go wrong!
Busboys and Poets
Another crowd pleaser, Busboys and Poets serves up comfort classics in both vegan and vegetarian formations: most of the pizzas can be ordered with either vegan cheese or regular cheese, and and paninis range from tempeh to chicken. The restaurant’s hummus is not to be missed, and its ful medames dish is perfectly spicy and rich. Vegans will flip over the vegan nachos.
An inclusive list of desserts and coffee beverages–not to mention a small bookstore in house (in which diners are welcome to sit and explore)–ensure that all diners will be tempted to linger long after a meal is done.
Dinner for two
Elizabeth’s Gone Raw
DC’s only gourmet raw dining establishment, Elizabeth’s offers a five course pre fixe dinner every Friday night featuring a sumptuous and seasonal tasting menu. A weekly selection might feature such entrees as Wild Mushroom and Tarragon Bisque with Fennel Salad & a Sunflower Cracker, or a raw apple cobbler for dessert. Elizabeth Petty, the owner, opened EGR after a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2009, and her passion for the restorative power of raw food shines through these light and brightly flavored dishes. She’ll be glad to greet you as you dine, and share more of her excitement for raw food with you. The price tag at Elizabeth’s Gone Raw is not cheap (it’s a $75 tasting menu), but the experience is truly unique, and there is no finer raw foods mecca in DC.
Cafe Green
Cafe Green is the place to be if you’re seeking out a casual and health-minded dinner bite. The restaurant features extensive raw options, including an impressive raw pizza with sprouted quinoa and buckwheat crust, raw avocado and spicy soup options, a marinated kale and mango salad, and raw crackers. Fresh juices are served up daily, along with fresh coconut water and kombucha. If you’re not into uncooked cuisine, try the gluten-free mung bean pancakes or the incredible mac n’ cheese. Let the buyer beware, however: the restaurant is very often out of options, especially raw ones, so be prepared to be flexible.
Founding Farmers
Though not vegan or even vegetarian, this restaurant, which is situated three blocks from the White House, is famous for sourcing local produce. The restaurant’s architecture is LEED- certified (a fancy way of saying it’s eco-friendly and environmentally conscious) and it’s other green features include front-of-house and back-of-house recycling, high-efficiency water and energy usage, menus printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks, and water served in reusable glass carafes. Veggie dining options aren’t exactly innovative, but they do include some tasty grain salads, entree sized salads, a savory veggie burger, and a roast eggplant tartine.
Restaurant Nora
Restaurant Nora has bragging rights as the nation’s first certified organic restaurant. This means that the restaurant was churning out organic fare in 1999, long before there was consumer pressure to do so. Nora Pouillon, the restaurant’s founder, has stayed true to her original intention of serving the DC population dishes that are freshly sourced from local farms. Though this is not a vegan restaurant, nor even vegetarian, it is focused on produce, and very high quality produce at that. Many of the salads are easily veganized, and your server will be happy to help you create a vegan meal. (When I went, I was lucky enough to enjoy a creamy risotto with morel mushrooms and fresh corn.) Prices are on the higher end of the spectrum, but the restaurant itself delivers a true fine dining experience, and is well worth it for a fancy dinner.
Firefly
This trendy restaurant in DC’s trendy Dupont circle offers up a menu of local and seasonal fare, including numerous vegan options. Though portion sizes tend to be modest, you can count on robust flavor and New American classics served up with creative flair. All vegans are accommodated: I recommend the tofu skewers and the quinoa with roasted fennel. Another notable feature is the restaurant’s extensive gluten-free menu, which features risotto, quinoa and a heaping of sides. A great and inclusive spot to bring friends of all dietary orientations!
Nightcap
Science Club
Science Club operates primarily as a bar and lounge, featuring a solid (and reasonably priced) wine list. What’s most notable about this particular bar is its emphasis on vegan dining options on the bar menu. These include a quinoa salad with balsamic reduction, hummus, and tofu skewers. DJ’s spin at Science Club every night of the week, and the restaurant also hosts private parties. This is your best late night bet for a vegan snack and sip of wine!
As you can see, DC’s vegan scene may be less outspoken than other cities’, but seek and ye shall find many an option. Enjoy plant-based fare while you soak in the spacious parks and green vistas of our nation’s capital!
For more information on how to optimize your health, visit choosingraw.com
Photo credit: Chris Hall, ciao-chow, Michael Banabila, Martin Kalfatovic, James Sullivan
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