Ani's Raw Food Kitchen

Drug abuse is one of the most troublesome problems that our society has nowadays. Not only does it make our crime level go up, it is also very bad for one’s health. The damage could be fatal, both for the one who takes the drugs, and for those who are around him. Fortunately, there is now a way to combat this addiction. With the proper detoxification, we can now get rid of all the residue and wastes that the drugs leave the body. However, before the detoxification could be done, it is important that our abuser admit and acknowledge his problem and that he should be willing to get rid of it. We will not be able to successfully detoxify the abuser’s body if he does not accept in himself that he has a problem and that he needs help.

The first part of drug detoxification is to have a medical plan designed by professionals. These doctors must know about drug abuse therapy and they will be creating a plan for the individual that suits his addiction best. Besides knowing a lot about drug abuse therapy, these therapists must also be very approachable and someone that the abuser ca trust. It is important that they could easily to them because the relationship of the abuser and the doctor plays a big role in the success of the treatment.

Usually, the detoxification will start with the abuser being removed from any drugs, and making it impossible for him to get one. Usually, they will be placed in a hospital, or a rehabilitation center. Withdrawing from drugs is truly very difficult. The withdrawal symptoms are often painful, and truly frustrating and troublesome for the abusers. It is why the guidance of the doctors is truly needed at this stage.

The next step for drug detoxification is to look far into the future. Detoxification does not end when the abuser stops taking in drugs for a few days. We should look into the future as well. Plans must be made for the proper nutrition that is best for our patient. It is usually nutritionists who do this.

Now after this, the most important to a lasting and successful detoxification is the counseling part. It is now the psychologist’s role to guide our patient. They must have conversations regarding the plans of our patient, and how they nay or may not actually come true. Guidance must properly be given because moving away from drugs is truly a very difficult time for our patient.

Drug detoxification is never easy. However, we have the help of the professionals to make it easier.

A Quick Overview of the History of the Raw Food Diet

Raw foods are a more healthy way of consuming foods than is eating cooked foods. On the ladder of evolution, cooking foods is a new conception.

The first documented use of fire by human beings was believed to be for making tools as opposed to for the purposes of cooking. It dates back to 400,000 BCE.

In North America, the first person credited with the start of the raw food diet was Sylvester Graham (1794- 1851). Graham was a 19th century advocate for a healthy lifestyle. Graham wrote a book called “Lectures on the Science of Human Life.”

Over the years there were plenty of 19th and early 20th century American citizens who were firm believers in the raw food diet (or in some cases semi-raw diets). Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (the creator of Kellogg cereal and many say, peanut butter) lived from 1852 to 1943. This well known doctor lived mainly on apples and nuts.

Dr. James Caleb Jackson (1814-1895) was known to serve primarily raw foods and lightly cooked foods of a vegetarian nature at his spa called Our Home. Our Home was one of the first successful health spas that got its start in the 1850s.

At the turn of the century, Bernarr MacFadden (1868-1955), the CEO of one of the greatest publishing empires in the United States lived on a diet of raw foods.

Herbert Shelton (1895-1984) is credited with systemizing raw foods into Natural Hygiene over a span of 50 years- from the 1920s to the 1970s- and was himself a proponent of raw foods.

Research teaches us that many Native American tribes throughout the United States lived on a diet of raw, uncooked foods. The most common foods for the diet of the tribes included acorns which were made into a powder or paste, as well as nuts and dried salmon.

A group of German raw foodists who made their home in Southern California at the turn of the 19th century played a role in developing the modern raw food movement in the United States.

These German-American luminaries included such names as Arnold Ehret, an author of many books on raw foods and fasting, and Dr. Carl Schultz, a pioneer in the field of naturopathic medicine. Another German influence was the fruitarian farmer and philosopher Bill Pester.

What was considered to be the second wave of raw foodism came about thanks to the efforts of Vera, John Richter and Hermann Sexauer.

In 1917 Vera and John Richter opened the first raw food restaurant in the United States. They called it Euthropheon (which means “good nourishment” in Greek). This restaurant remained in business for 25 years and provided a great deal of education to its clients about raw foods.

Hermann Sexauer, a vegan raw foodist opened the first health food store in Santa Barbara, California. The year was 1934. Thus began the start of the raw food movement which continues to remain strong today.

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A Look at the Raw Food Detox Diet Plan

If you decide to try the raw food diet, prepare for a mild detoxification of the body! This food plan emphasizes eating organic and fresh foods. All foods are uncooked and unprocessed. In particular the diet leans towards plenty of uncooked fruits and vegetables.

The raw food detox diet plan is a way to shed unwanted pounds. This is done by way of the detoxifying nature of the food plan. By getting rid of toxins and waste from the body you can lose weight. You will not only feel better on the inside but you will look better on the outside!

The idea that underscores the raw food detox diet plan is that when foods are cooked at temperatures above 118 degrees Fahrenheit, live enzymes are then destroyed in the food. This makes the food less healthy to consume. It is also a roadblock to proper metabolism.

For this reason, on the raw food detox diet plan foods are not cooked above this temperature in order to preserve the live enzymes in them.

Other Important Tidbits about this Diet:

-Do not combine different types of foods at a meal. For example it is okay to eat nuts, seeds and dried fruits together but fresh fruits should not be eaten at the same time.

-Raw vegetables and condiments are neutral foods. These can be combined with the foods noted above, with the exception of fresh fruit. Raw vegetables and fruits should be kept separate.

-You might want to invest in a colon cleansing product, or to use enemas to support your body in ridding itself of waste materials.

The raw food detox diet is not a vegan diet per se. Although most of the foods eaten on the diet are plant sources, you are allowed a small portion of dairy and meat products. It is permissible to cook some of the meals.

How do I begin the raw food detox diet?

First thing you need to do is to get rid of all processed and junk foods from your diet. Say goodbye to white bread, pasta, cereal, rice, processed soy products, potato chips, etc. Introduce whole foods to your diet instead. Examples include whole grains, raw honey, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and dried fruits.

Start slow with the substituting of bad foods for good. Add more and more raw foods to your diet all of the time. This should encourage the colon cleansing process as well as paving the road to a more slender you.

If you have a juicer, try this recipe:

Green Lemonade

Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce
5- 6 leaves of dark leafy green vegetables (examples include kale, spinach, collards, celery, dandelion greens)
1 whole lemon (including the peel and seeds)
2 Fuji apples, cored (for an even sweeter tasting drink, had a third apple!)

Juice the healthy concoction and then drink to your good health!

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A Healthy World: International Trends in Organic Farming

There has been much talk in recent years about the global environment and what issues have developed since the bulk of
farming is conventional farming instead of the more traditional organic farming. Conventional farming allows for the use
of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides—some of which has been found to harm the environment, even
when used correctly.

Countries throughout the world are, to varying degrees, exploring organic farming techniques as environmentally-friendly
ways to grow produce for the world’s population while keeping the environment as healthy as possible. Organic farming, as
we know it today, began in Central Europe and in India. Today, there are many countries dedicated to growing produce using
organic techniques without reducing the world’s food supply.

In the US, organic food can be formally certified “organic” by passing strict guidelines assuring the food is truly organic.
The certifying organization is known as the “National Organic Program”.
There are other organic food movements in the US, however, that are trying to bypass the formality of certification by
proposing other, less expensive standards, like the “Authentic Food Standard”. This standard allows for the passage of
various criteria, including that all foods be sold by the organic producer, that fresh produce, milk, eggs and meat be sold
within 50 miles of their production and that cheese, wine, bread and other fermented products be produced using traditional
methods.

Another US-based organic food approach is based on producing and selling organic food products locally. Consumers partner
with local farmers and pre-purchase a certain percentage of the year’s harvest. Supporters believe that locally-produced
and sold organic foods taste better than those foods transported over long distances in refrigerated trucks.
Throughout the world, food that is grown using strictly organic techniques accounts for approximately 1-2 percent of gross
food sales. Organic food sales, however, are growing dramatically worldwide. In fact, the world organic food market has
been growing consistently since 1990 at a rate of 20 percent per year.

In the European Union, the EU-Eco-regulation organization regulates all of the organic food in Europe. In Austria, organic
farmers have been given incentives and experts expect that up to 10% of all foods grown locally. In Germany, almost all
baby food is completely organic and, in some places, up to a third of all bread is baked using organic ingredients.
Italy has gone even further to assure that its children eat organic food. Its government has legislated that, as of 2005,
all food prepared in school lunch programs must be organic food.

In the UK, it was reported that more than 600,000 hectares of land was allotted and managed under organic care standards
and sales of organic foods increased from approximately 100 million pounds to over 1.2 billion pounds in only ten years.
Perhaps the biggest change has happened in Cuba, where, in 1990, the government banned many chemicals used in conventional
farming and converted the land in the entire country to organic farm land. This means that it would be rare to even find a
piece of conventionally grown produce within the country.

Clearly the globe is going organic and several countries are light years ahead of the US in promoting organic eating and
providing incentives to organic farmers. The trend, however, is definitely headed in the right direction.