Medicinal Properties and Health Benefits of Sea Vegetables

    Mmm, Seaweed:

     Sea vegetables are spectacularly nutritive and medicinal for the human body.  By eating seaweeds, we are able to take in a part of our oceans, which cover a large percentage of our earth.  For me personally, consuming seaweeds subtly touches me on a spiritual level the same way swimming or diving in an ocean does.  Seaweeds are incredibly rich in the minerals of the ocean.  These vegetables have been found to be 20-50% dry weight mineral. No land plant even remotely approaches seaweeds as sources of metabolically-required minerals.  And, these minerals crucial for our health are bio-available, meaning that the body can absorb them to be used. These elements include: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, chloride, sulfur, phosphorous, vanadium, cobalt, manganese, selenium, bromine, iodine, arsenic, iron, and fluorine.  Because of the synergistic activity of the minerals, phytonutrients, vitamins, and enzymes, eating them provides our bodies with what we need without toxicity of any one element. They are best eaten raw and dried.  I can just picture a candy jar full of dried seaweed on someone's kitchen counter! Snack away!
     Many mineral supplements found on the market are synthetic, and the body cannot even metabolize them. Sea salt is advertised as rich in the oceans minerals, but does not come close to the percentage found in seaweeds. It's important to note that a person's digestive flora could take anywhere up to 4 months to produce dedicated enzymes to thoroughly digest dietary seaweeds.  It's recommended to eat a small amount of seaweed every day rather than large amounts occasionally.  Therapeutic benefits by eating seaweeds regularly can take several weeks to several months to become obvious. But, the benefits are staggering.

     Medicinal and Health Benefits of Seaweeds:

     Seaweeds provide the iodine that our bodies are crucially in need of. All mammals require iodine and it is often very difficult to get the right amount of it.  There are few land plants that have adequate iodine sources, yet seaweeds provide plenty. Iodineis used in thyroid hormones, fetal development, postnatal growth, and ongoing daily body metabolism.  We cannot live without iodine.  

     Seaweed protects our bodies from the nuclear "dust" in our atmosphere, and any nuclear exposure. All nuclear facilities release radioactive iodine 131 in to the atmosphere.  Because of nuclear disasters and the continuous "dusting" of nuclear iodine 131 in our atmosphere, many people experience fatigue, thyroid diseases, and thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer is one of the fastest increasing cancers in both adult men and women.  If we continuously supply our bodies with enough healthy iodine from seaweeds, our bodies will not uptake Iodine 131, which is hazardous and radioactive to us. Eating 5-10 grams of seaweed daily for a 150 lb person can aid in iodine-deficiency.  

     Many women eating seaweeds see a reduction in their PMS symptoms.  The potassium in seaweeds helps this, and it also aids in nerve and muscle function.  Seaweeds are seen to significantly improve behavior and mental functions in ADD patients. This is used instead of pharmaceutical drugs such as Ritalin.

     Seaweeds have a great therapeutic value for detoxifying heavy metals from the body.  The algin can bind with heavy metals present and carry them out with the stool.  It is important to eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and grains which are high in dietary fiber to help remove heavy metals from the body.  People are found to have heavy metal poisoning from industrial activities, mining, nucelar power activities, breathing air, drinking water, and eating crops which are continuously poisoned from nuclear power.   Much of dementia and Alzheimers is predicted to be preventable by cleansing the body from the slow bioaccumulation of the neurotioxic metals.  Kelps and brown seaweeds can do this.  

     Eating seaweeds before and after radiation or chemotherapy can aid in a better recovery and fewer and less intense adverse reactions.    Seaweeds can help erectile dysfunction and male libido.  Circulation is improved upon eating seaweeds.  

    Regular consumption of a seaweed like Kombu can have effects such as: resolution of cornoary artery disease, healthier liver function, higher metabolic rate, faster food transit time, lower LDL cholesterol, and beneficial higher HDL cholesteral blood levels.

     Essential vitamins in seaweeds such as the B vitamins, A and C are abundant.  They also have significant amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids.  

    This is not the end of the list of the amazing benefits of eating seaweed every day! 

Seaweed Sources:

BC Kelp: POB 274, Prince Rupert, BC V8J 3P3, CAnada 250-622-7085

Island Herbs: POB 25, Waldron, WA 98297

Maine Seaweed Co.: POB 57, Steuben, Maine 04680

Maine Coast Sea Vegetables: 3 Georges Pond RD., Franklin, Maine 04634 (207)565-2907

Nature Spirit Herbs: POB 150, Williams, OR 97544 (541)846-7995

     

Fats and Oils: Everyone Must Know!

Saturated Fats	Unsaturated Fats
Constitute at least 50% of all cell membranes in body	Monounsaturated fats protect against heart disease
Highly stable and don’t go rancid easily.  Solid at room temp (except for coconut oil in the summer heat)	Not all bonding sites are filled, being reactive and susceptible to change through heat, oxygen and light and go rancid more easily
Sustains integrity of each cell in our body	Essential fatty acids (polyunsaturated fats) such as omega-6 and omega-3’s
Protect liver from toxins like alcohol and those found in drugs like NSAIDS and Tylenol	Liquid at room temperature
Enhance the immune system (especially coconut)
Needed to properly utilize all other fats in diet, such as Omega-3’s
Protect against harmful micrororganisms as antimicrobials
Heart is fueled in part by saturated fats
At least 50% of dietary fat consumed should be saturated fat for calcium to be effectively incorporated into skeletal structure

Healthy Oils	Unhealthy Oils
Cold\expeller pressed olive oil	Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
Grass-fed, organic butter	Refined oils
Coconut oil – raw, extra virgin, cold pressed	Margarine
Oil found in eating raw nuts and seeds	Oils consisting of trans fats (highly processed oils)
Oil found in eating whole grains and legumes	Canola oil
Oil found in fish (always cold/expeller pressed or simply eating fish)	Soybean oil
Oil found in eating avacados	Corn oil
Flaxseed oil (cold pressed oil, or ground flax)	Vegetable oil (used in restaurants and home)
Leafy green vegetables	Oils in all processed foods (chips, crackers, snacks, ect.)
	Foods fried in oil

When Cooking:

Highest Heat- use saturated fats such as coconut oil and butter

Low Heat- monounsaturated fats like olive oil

Never Heat (or eat)- safflower oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, vegetable oils, corn or soy oils
Salads and things- cold/expeller pressed olive oil, sunflower oil, avacado oil ect.

Fats Facts:

- Fats are protective and provide benefits for a well-functioning body
 - Fat must be eaten to lose fat.  They quickly satisfy hunger.

-Low fat diets are dangerous.

- Fat, not sugar, is the body’s preferred fuel.

-Fats affect skin health, hair health, reproductive organs, sexual performance, fertility, a strong immune system, balanced hormones, and have anti-aging properties. Fats are important to proper growth and development of the body and organs and nerves.

-Vitamins A,D,E, and K are fat-soluable and can only be absorbed into the body through fat. Fat helps assimilate and utilize proteins and minerals.

-Bad fats like trans fats and polyunsaturated oils cause damage and have a high correlation with cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s, ALS, Alzheimers, and cartaracs.

-Sugar turns to stored fat, healthy fats do not do this but cause healthy weight to be achieved.

-Environmental pollution and processed oils cause high amounts of free radicals in the body. That plus low amount of antioxidants results in oxidative stress, premature aging, and disease. 

- Studies show that healthy saturated fats (like butter and coconut oil) and cholesterol are not linked to heart diseases, but in fact vitally improve health and serum cholesterol. 

-Studies also show the link between oxidized and rancid fats/cholesterol causing heart disease and other health problems.

-Canola oil comes from a genetically engineered seed and is said to be the best oil to cook with, but is actually toxic and treated with chemicals and high heat. 

-Refined oils destroy all health benefits and are actually detrimental to health.  Vitamins, antioxidants, and nutrients are destroyed and the oil becomes full of trans fats and free radicles.  
 -Popular and “politically correct” nutrition teaches that eating fat makes you fat, that canola oil is healthy, coconut oil is dangerous, real butter clogs arteries, margarine should be used, and egg yolks are high in cholesterol and only the whites of eggs should be eaten. This is all false information

Replace Agave with Raw Honey, Your Liver Will Be Happy

Sadly, Agave Nectar was one of those products that shot out on to the market fast and grabbed a lot of attention and support, yet has been proven unhealthy. 
Agave rates quite low on the Glycemic Index, because eating it does not cause the blood glucose levels to spike or rise too high.  This was great news for consumers, because it is both versatile and tasty. 
Agave Nectar, because of it's high percentage of glucose, causes fatty deposits to form in the liver, contributing to non-alcoholic fatty liver. Therefore, it is wise to avoid even when it is labeled as completely raw.
100% raw honey is a much better choice.  Choose your honey from a manufacturer or local honey source that has never heated or cooked the honey.  Unfiltered is best, as well.  Eating this type of honey ensures that the enzymes, minerals, and nutrients are still in tact and available for absorption.  These enzymes and nutrients slow down the absorption of the sugar molecules, thus slowing insulin spikes in the blood stream.  A word of caution, our ancestors consumed very small amounts of honey over the course of a year, and definitely no refined sugars.  Therefore, our bodies have adapted to metabolizing sugars from whole foods such as fruit, which have fiber, enzymes, and loads of other nutrients.  Eat your honey sparingly and focus more on whole foods that touch on all of the tastes: bitter, sour, pungent, savory, and sweet. Balance of the tastes is key to health.    

Here is a good visual example of unheated, raw honey:

Some "Why's" for replacing one's microwave oven for a toaster oven.

Here is a very informative article on microwave ovens. To simplify it down, I have posted the summary found at the end of the article. 

What makes our food toxic (meaning a food that the body rejects, fights, or is adversely affected by) can come from many, many sources and reasons.  By eliminating microwaved food, we can cut out one very important toxicity inducing element from our lives, thus moving towards clean and pure foods that we ingest. 

No mater the "quality" of a microwave oven, they all generally do the same things to food, and they definitely "toxify" the food in the exact same way.  

There is more than substantial clinical and empirical evidence that microwaves are toxic to people and our home's environment. This invention has run it's course and it's time to call it out for retirement.  The toaster oven, on the other hand, is a very beneficial invention, and it replaces a microwave oven quite well!  

http://www.health-science.com/microwave_hazards.html

 

Ten Reasons not to Use Your Microwave Oven

Based on Swiss, Russian and German clinical studies

1. Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term, permanent, brain damage by "shorting out" electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].
   
2. The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in micro-waved food.
   
3. Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating micro-waved foods.
   
4. The effects of micro-waved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body.
   
5. Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all micro-waved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.
   
6. The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in a microwave oven.
   
7. Micro-waved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumors]. This has been a primary contributor to the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in the United States.
   
8. The prolonged eating of micro-waved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.
   
9. Continual ingestion of micro-waved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.
   
10. Eating micro-waved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

Water PH and Minerals: Is Your Body Screaming For Both?

Drinking Your Share of Water Each Day

Each person should drink half of their body weight in fluid ounces of water.
 

Acidity In The Body Causes Degeneration

The PH of water naturally occurring in nature is 9.5. 
Too much acidity in the body causes mineral depletion in bones as the body tries to alkalize itself, and an environment for disease and cancer. Over-acidity is caused by normal drinking water, white flour, sugar, excess meat, and conventional dairy. Sports drinks, sodas, and energy drinks are among the worst!

Alkalize by Changing Your Water

One can add mineral drops or mineral tablets (only from a natural source, never synthetic) to filtered water to help alkalize the water, or purchase machines like Kangen Water. 
I personally drink all my water with mineral drops added to it, because humans evolved getting their minerals from water and food sources. Our food is so depleted of minerals and nutrients because of farming practices, that we must eat more of one food than our great grandparents to get the same amount of nutrients and minerals that they did. This is a very good reason to keep an organic garden with homemade compost at home.  Man, do I notice a huge difference when I drink my water with added minerals! 

Drink Nourishing, Alkalizing Tea

Teas of organically grown Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) aerial parts and Nettles (Urtica dioica) leaves are hugely beneficial. These medicinal herbs are high in minerals that are readily available in an aqueous solution for the body to absorb and use. Boil distilled or filtered water and steep 1/4 cup of herb to every 2 cups water, or 1 heaping tablespoon per 8 oz of water, covered in a glass vessel (ex: mason jar or french press) for 40 minutes.  Drink 1 cup twice daily. 

Kangen Water link:
http://www.phdrinkingwater.com/


Examples of good mineral drops:

   
 
Alfalfa and Nettles plants.