In This Issue:
1. Don’t Get Isolated!
2. My Own Journey
3. Recipe – Kale Kichuri
4. Juice Plus+® and Pregnancy, Revisited
5. More Information
From Here to Longevity E-Newsletter
Your Complete Guide for a Long and Healthy Life Issue 6 — February, 2006
Dear Reader,
Happy Valentine’s Day! We hope that you enjoy this issue of From Here to Longevity. In this issue, Mitra shares her perspective on isolated nutrition, and explains our recent hiatus here at FHTL.
Thank you for all of your encouraging comments, inquires, and emails. Your readership and continued support inspire us to create and deliver the best eNewsletter experience we can.
Today’s issue is going out to 2,605 subscribers. Thank you in advance for forwarding this issue to friends, family, and associates!
Mitra Ray, Ph.D. and the FHTL Publishing Team
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Ever wonder why there is so much confusion in the medical community about nutrition and its relationship to health? I was recently reading the New England Journal of Medicine, when a light bulb went on for me. The article was discussing the results of a long-awaited randomized trial on Alzheimer’s disease using vitamin E, and suggested that “the implication for primary care medicine and for public health is enormous. The clear-cut negative findings for vitamin E, which is widely used despite the dearth of evidence of its efficacy, are especially noteworthy.” So, I reasoned, a physician could read this and immediately move his or her patients away from any kind of supplementation whatsoever. And rightly so, because most isolated nutrient supplementation is not worth a dime – “expensive urine,” as you may have heard it described.
However, there is plenty of evidence about real fruits and veggies being the guardians of our health. I recently heard a talk in London by a prominent practitioner, Dr. Nyjon Eccles, who works with thermography as an early-detection method for identifying cells that are “heating up,” long before – about 6 to 10 years before – they could be seen in a mammogram. This technique is safer and friendlier for women as well. He went on to explain that when he sees this thermal activity – this heat in the body – it clearly implies trouble. [See my inflammation article from last issue.] And yet, a mammogram will show negative results for cancer at this stage since the person has not developed a diagnostically assessable tumor. Still, Dr. Eccles can reduce the activity at this point by simply encouraging lifestyle changes. With a Ph.D. in medical pharmacology prior to his medical training, he is intrigued with how we came to the point in medicine where we started using single chemicals to try to treat the complex disease processes in the body. By the way, Dr. Eccles highly recommends Juice Plus+® to his patients.
Recently, someone asked the question that keeps resurfacing around Juice Plus+®: how does Juice Plus+® compare to vitamins?
Even after an in-depth explanation of the combination of fruits, vegetables, and grains found in Juice Plus+®, as well as a broader discussion of whole food nutrition and its importance to the health of the body, the questioner still remained skeptical:
Thanks. I have heard this kind of reasoning before, but I need facts.
I’m looking for a product label that just gives the ingredients in simple terms as is on all othervitamins and supplements I have seen.
If you can send this to me, I will look at it. Otherwise I am not interested – thank you.
To this I replied:
If you are looking for the best vitamin supplement in town, then Juice Plus+® is not for you.
Juice Plus+® may come in a capsule, but it is not a vitamin and would not be found on the vitamin shelf if it were sold in the grocery store. As an FDA regulated food item, it would be found in the grocery aisle, if placed properly. You see, if I were to put an apple next to a bottle of Vitamin C that had the highest RDA number, and that apple had a label on it, you would see that the average apple has only 5 or 6 mg of vitamin C in it (a dismal RDA). However, because an apple also has 10,000+ other plant nutrients that work in synergy together with the vitamin C, it would take 1,500 mg of isolated vitamin C to do the same job as the apple in protecting cells from free radicals ? those culprits that cause oxidative stress and increase the aging process. These facts come from a study published in Nature, a leading scientific journal.
Now, here is the scary part: 1,500 mg of isolated vitamin C is toxic when introduced to cells in culture, as it hurts the DNA. The only reason people survive eating high amounts of isolated vitamins is because isolated vitamins are terribly “un-bioavailable.” That is, they are not readily absorbed by the cells and instead are flushed from the body as expensive urine ? a process that can take its toll on the kidneys over time.
Furthermore, Dole Nutrition News reports that “a watershed study published last month in The Lancet reviewed 14 randomized trials with more than 170,000 participants to establish whether antioxidant pills reduce the risk of gastrointestinal cancer. Far from finding any protective benefits to such supplements, ‘on the contrary, they seem to increase overall mortality.’”
Dole Nutrition News
Click here for original report
This is the difference between qualitative nutrition and quantitative nutrition.
Hence, Juice Plus+® has become the number one encapsulated nutritional supplement in the world, because it provides the body with a new paradigm in supplementation ? whole food supplementation that is bioavailable and works to slow down the aging process. It is not a matter of debate anymore. It has been proven by independent researchers all over the world.
It is my hope that you will let your mind expand and choose optimal nutrition through Juice Plus+® for yourself and your family.
To your longevity, Dr. Mitra Ray
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“GET ANTIOXIDANTS FROM FOOD, NOT SUPPLEMENTS.”
American Heart Association Recommendation
Click here to read the full report.
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My Own Journey
I apologize to my readers for missing last quarter’s newsletter. I have taken on a whole new challenge as I seek to assist my 68-year-old mother. Watching the degenerative aging process take over her life is a devastating experience, but it is also strengthening my resolve to do everything within my power to help prevent disease.
What I have seen in my own family is that degenerative disease is a huge emotional, psychological, not to mention financially expensive process. Yet, there are always things to learn from every experience in life, pleasant or unpleasant. For instance, I was worried about my mother’s diet being so limited lately. She makes a rice and lentil dish called Kichuri every day. Both my brother and I have been encouraging her to add more vegetables to the Kichuri to make it more nutritious. Then I went to do some yoga for my own health and edification and saw Kichuri in a new light!
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Kale Kichuri
I recently did a continuing education Yoga Teacher Training with Shiva Rea – 42 hours in 4 days! How incredibly challenging and intense an experience that was! Well, Shiva whipped up a Kichuri dish for all of us on the last day. Kichuri was promoted as a warm meal that one can start cooking in the morning before leaving home and come back to after teaching morning yoga classes on cold winter days.
Now, being the only Indian in the room, I was asked by Shiva to give my input on the whole matter, and I agreed with her that, yes, turmeric was great for increasing flexibility, that ginger had great healing power, and that cumin had powerful antioxidants. And, I sampled Shiva’s version of Kichuri, which I will attempt to give to you. This will be my own close version that I just whipped up last night to test my ingredients before writing them down.
And guess what? Shiva put kale in it – yet another delicious recipe that brings out the little known savory flavors of kale. Now, the art of cooking is to not get too hung up on the measurements, if at all. I offer measurements simply “by guess and by gosh,” as you say. I never really measure what I add, but rather I try to intuitively create variety in my food day to day. If you normally cook with recipes, I encourage you to “curry” a relationship with the spices and to develop and rely on your own taste.
Now, at first, this may seem like a daunting recipe. But once you have all the spices and makings, and have made it a few times, it will seem like a really yummy, easy, comfort food that leaves room for lots of creativity with what you can add to the mix. After all, Kichuri in itself means “a mish mash of food.“
Choose organic ingredients whenever possible – especially if I mention “organic” for a particular ingredient.
Ingredients for Lentil/Rice Soup Base
- 1 cup white basmati rice, washed thoroughly until water is clear and then drained (That’s right – white, not brown. Ayurvedic doctors don’t just focus on nutrition content, but also on the effect a food has on balancing the metabolism.)
- 1 cup green Mung lentils (These can be found in Indian grocery stores, health food sections of your grocery, or health food stores.)
- 1 head of curly kale, stems removed and chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2-3 carrots, sliced into bite-size pieces
- 2-3 cups of any other veggies you may wish to add
- Optional – cubed tofu or paneer (This home- made Indian cheese can be found in Indian stores. Imagine blocks of cottage cheese.)
- Optional – crushed almonds or cashews or grated coconut
- 1 can of organic coconut milk
- 1 cup of vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon of grated or minced ginger
- ½ tablespoon of organic, ground turmeric (Whole Foods sells organic turmeric in bulk.)
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- A pinch of evaporated cane sugar
- Sea salt to taste (Start with ½ tablespoon and add more later to taste.)
In a large pot (6-8 quarts, large crock pot is okay), add washed rice, washed lentils, coconut milk, stock, and 5 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Add turmeric, ginger, tomato, cane sugar, and sea salt. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes until rice and lentils are totally cooked. Add sambar (see recipe below) and all chopped veggies and simmer another 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
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Juice Plus+® and Pregnancy, Revisited
Several readers write-in each month and inquire about pregnancy and Juice Plus+®. The questions range from, “Can I take Juice Plus+® and my prenatal vitamin?” to “What else do you recommend for a healthy, happy baby and a healthy, happy mother?”
Having had two healthy pregnancies, I speak from first-hand experience. I have every reason to believe through the research and my own experience that Juice Plus+® is the “Mercedes Benz” of prenatals. In 10 years, I predict that every OBGYN will be recommending Juice Plus+® over prenatal supplementation.
I have also had many friends with healthy “Juice Plus+® babies.” Nutrition is so important for a healthy, happy baby — not to mention a healthy, happy mother. We need to focus on getting sufficient amounts of the following:
- nutrients from fresh fruits and veggies
- essential fats
- filtered water
- lean, hormone-free protein
- salts (not table salt)
Here is the regimen that I followed both times during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Don’t be overwhelmed. It took a long time for me to develop this level of daily nutritional intake. Start slow and don’t feel guilty about what you can’t do.
1. Juice Plus+® capsules are a must. Take at least the recommended two fruits and two veggies. This was also the dosage that Doug Odom, M.D., OB/GYN used in his research, which is now being continued by the University of Mississippi in a formalized research program. I took three fruits and three veggies. When I travel or feel more stress, I have taken as many as six and six. And now, I highly recommend the new Juice Plus+® Vineyard Blend as well. The JuicePlus+® Vineyard Blend was not available when I was pregnant, but I wish it had been.
Pregnancy is a highly vascular process and the Vineyard Blend will further enhance the results seen with just the fruits and veggies blends.
2. I took no pre-natal vitamins or minerals. That part was easy. Although, the research from Dr. Odom, showing that taking Juice Plus+® reduces risk of preeclampsia, low birth weight and respiratory disorders, did include prenatal supplements (since it was the standard care at his clinic). If you feel that you want to take them as well, go ahead. I was satisfied that 2 capsules of each of just the fruits and veggies provided sufficient folic acid as well as thousands of nutrients that prenatal supplements do not have. But, as an expectant mother you should support your own psychology of feeling well. Even if it is a placebo effect, I think it is still important.
3. Drink a minimum of two liters of filtered water a day.
4. I take two fish-oil supplements at least every other day. Brands that are good are Spectrum and Nordic Naturals.
5. At least 4-5 times a week, I make a shake that has:
- 1 serving of Juice Plus+ Complete®
- 1 serving of protein powder (I use a variety of sources for protein powders like high-quality, triple-filtered whey, rice protein, and egg protein)
- ½ tsp. of organic golden flaxseeds
- ½ tsp. of soy-lecithin (I keep a bag in the freezer with soy-lecithin and organic golden flax seeds pre-combined in 1:1 parts)
- 2-3 servings of fruit (1/2 cup blueberries, pineapple with core, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon of organic, cold high-lignan flaxseed oil
- Add filtered water to desired consistency
- Mix thoroughly in a blender or Vita-mixer
6. Eat at least 5 vegetables a day, preferably raw, in a salad.
7. Generously use whole, living seasalt, as opposed to processed table salt, to enhance the flavor of your food and to replenish body salts and minerals.
8. Walk briskly 3-5 times a week for 30-60 minutes.
9. Practice pre-natal yoga 3-5 times a week (I prefer Kundalini yoga during pregnancy and Hatha yoga for recovery).
I have had two very healthy natural childbirths. My children, Leela and Nira, are now almost seven and five years old. They have had no ear infections or other, now common symptoms of childhood. During flu season, if they do catch anything from their friends at school, it seems to pass more quickly, if they get anything at all. I started introducing Juice Plus+® into their diet once they started solid food. I simply opened one capsule and sprinkled part of it into their meals (1/3 capsule per 10 lbs. of body weight).
Teaching them to drink water is a constant activity and very important so that the dry powders do not add to the common problem kids have with staying hydrated once they stop drinking mostly breast milk as their main source of nutrition. I also started adding goat milk, flaxseed oil, and fish oils to their diet once they stopped breastfeeding.
For a more in-depth look at raising healthy, happy children, I recommend my book, From Here to Longevity. You can purchase a copy here.
Here’s to a healthy, happy pregnancy and beyond.
Love,
Mitra
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