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30 Day Juice Fast Journey -- Day Eight
Got Carrot?
Date: 1/23/2006 7:42:02 PM ( 7 y ) ... viewed 2203 times I'm sitting here with a lovely, lime-green AnaMay clay mask on my face, an absolutely terrific mask that really sucks the gunk out of the pores of my skin while I'm sipping the last of the fabulous cherry-fruit broth I'd made yesterday. I juiced some watermelon and added that to the broth today. Watermelon is practically pure water all by itself. But don't let that fool you. Watermelon is a very versatile and powerful fruit.
For Your Information:
Watermelon is practically a multi-vitamin unto itself. With a 2-cup serving of watermelon containing excellent levels of vitamins A, B6 and C, this fruit contains a number of powerful nutrients that are vital to good health.
Vitamin A found in watermelon is important for optimal eye health, can help prevent nightblindness, and boosts immunity by enhancing the infection-fighting actions of white blood cells called lymphocytes.
Vitamin B6 found in watermelon is used by the body to manufacture brain chemicals (neurotransmitters), such as serotonin, melatonin and dopamine, which preliminary research shows may help the body cope with anxiety and panic. I don't know about any of you, but I need as much B6 as I can get!
Vitamin C in watermelon can help to bolster the immune system's defenses against infections and viruses and can protect a body from harmful free radicals that can accelerate aging and conditions such as cataracts.
A two-cup serving of watermelon is also a superb source of potassium, a mineral necessary for water balance and found inside of every cell. People with low potassium levels can experience muscle cramps.
Watermelon is also a very concentrated source of the carotenoid, lycopene. Well known for being abundant in tomatoes and particularly well absorbed from cooked tomato products containing a little fat such as olive oil, lycopene is also present in high amounts in watermelon and mangoes. Lycopene has been extensively studied for its antioxidant and cancer-preventing properties. In contrast to many other food phytonutrients, whose effects have only been studied in animals, lycopene has been repeatedly studied in humans and found to be protective against a growing list of cancers. These cancers now include prostate cancer, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancers. A great juice for smokers trying to quit to drink regularly for potential damage control as well as anyone susceptible to any of the listed cancers.
The watermelon juice added a touch to the fruit broth and allowed me to supplement the broth so it would last all day long. I like this broth so much, I am going to make more tomorrow morning. It's a great hot drink in the morning for breakfast after I have my morning juice and lemon-pepper tea (and liquid vitamins). It fills me up and satisfies a something in me that the delicious hot veggie broths can't come near.
For Your Information:
Cherries
According to ongoing research, cherries are a rich source of antioxidants that can help fight cancer and heart disease. In addition, they contain compounds that help relieve the pain of arthritis, gout and even headaches.
The secret is in the pigments that give cherries their rich red hue. They belong to a class of natural dyes called anthocyanins. These compounds are being called "Mother Nature's all-natural chemotherapy agents."
In addition to the antioxidants, cherries are rich in two important flavonoids --isoqueritrin and queritrin. According to leading researchers, queritrin is one of the most potent anticancer agents ever discovered.
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Today my son and a friend of his was visiting, hanging out, working on a computer problem with my husband. After I juiced I knew I had an orange mustache on my upper lip from the carrot juice. Instead of washing it off, I went around the house asking,
"Got Carrot? Got Carrot?"
Needless to say, I received a few chuckles from everyone.
But stop and think about it. Remember the Got Milk? commercials where they would hire celebrities to advertise how milk is crucial to good health? Very clever of the Dairy Industry to come together and make such psychologically powerful commercials to further brainwash and confuse the people about what is truly good for them. Any corporate entity with the word Industry in its title, in my humble opinion and based from my own researches, are only concerned for the almighty American dollar. Not your health. Or mine either, for that matter. The Tobacco Industry, the Pharmaceutical Industry, the Fast Food Industry, the Meat and Poultry Industry, the Dairy Industry... none of these Industries give a hoot about who gains or who loses health by using the products from their Industry as long as their coffers keep growing. Look how long it takes any one of these Industries to recall any of their products that have been found to do harm. When Big Tobacco was in the headlines several years ago, I hoped and prayed they'd owe so much in penalties, fines, court costs, attorney fees etc etc etc., they'd be put out of business. Imagine a smoke-free America. Hmmm... dream on, baby. But don't let me get started on the evil Industries in this country...
Two excellent books that cover the Pharmaceutical, Fast Food, Meat and Poultry and Potato Industries (Yes, there is a potato industry. The french fry welds alot of power in this country):
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The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to do About it by Marcia Angell, MD
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Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
Milk. Do you know, the human species is the only species who regularly drinks another species' milk? Do you know the human species is the only species who continues to drink milk beyond babyhood? Yes, there have been incidences where a species was forced to drink another species' milk for survival. Such as an injured, motherless fawn drinking the milk of a mama sheep, until it could heal and grow up. But that's where it ended. The fawn did not keep coming back to the mama sheep after it grew up into a stag.
Human beings are not compatible with the milk of cows, I don't care how delicious and creamy it's believed to be. But because we begin drinking it at such a young age and don't stop, it becomes difficult to pin point all the various allergies and ailments that actually come from the consumption of cow's milk. Even more so, humans are not compatible with the milk of cows that has been tainted with anti-biotics, hormones, pesticides, feces and then pasteurized, homogenized and enriched just so no one drops dead when they drink it. Wow! tainted animal milk that's enriched with Vitamin D and Calcium. Well, whoooopy doo... Ring my bell... Toot my horn...
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Whole milk, or anything made of whole milk, is high in saturated fat, which can increase bad cholesterol level.
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Milk is a common cause of food allergy (allergy to milk protein).
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Many people, especially adults, lack the enzyme to digest lactose (milk sugar). This is called lactose intolerance, which causes bloating, gas, and diarrhea.
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Milk (and meat for that matter) usually contains the anti-biotics given to the animal before slaughter. It has been argued that when humans then eat the dairy or meat products, they absorb the anti-biotics, potentially allowing for bacteria harmful to humans to become more resistant to these antibiotics. The consequence is that when anti-biotics are prescribed, they may not be as effective at killing the bacteria as they once were. Not that anti-biotics themselves are good for humans to ingest as they suppress the immune system. But there are crucial times when anti-biotics are a must and it is important that the body can use them productively.
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Dairy products may actually cause osteoporosis, not prevent it, since their high-protein content leaches calcium from the body. Population studies, backed up by a groundbreaking Harvard study of more than 75,000 nurses, suggest that drinking milk can actually cause osteoporosis. Fresh green vegetables are an excellent source of calcium the body can use immediately. Get a juicer.
Here is a great article written by the good Dr. Joseph Mercola pertaining to the hazards of drinking milk: http://www.formerfatguy.com/articles/dont-drink-milk.asp for those of you who are interested in knowing more about this topic. But wouldn't it be fantastic if the farmers, the agriculture community and produce wholesalers came together to create the Produce Industry? Preferably the Organic Produce Industry because like all the other Industries the Produce Industry is just as susceptible to becoming drunk with power and could load their produce with presticides and growth hormones and if there isn't such a thing as a growth hormone for plants now, there will be... But an Organic Produce Industry, that sounds different. If one existed, we'd be hearing Got Carrot? as much as we'd be hearing Got Milk? At the very least, carrots would be in everyone's living rooms as often as milk is.
There are people who refuse to consider giving up cow's milk because they believe it's the only source of reliable calcium. There are people who believe that others who do prolonged juice fasts, RAW food enthusiasts and Vegetarians are calcium deficient because they don't include milk, dairy or animal products in their fasts or vegan diets. Both of these beliefs are fallacies. Not only are there other and better sources for calcium, these sources offer something milk, or calcium from dairy products, do not offer and that's almighty fiber. In addition, animal milk boasts something that plant sources do not, which can be a silent killer and that is cholesterol.
The below extensive listings are based on a 100 gram serving of each (the equivalent of 3.53 ounces), listed in a descending order from the highest amount of calcium to the lowest amount of calcium. We ended the table at "Milk, Human" (breast milk) as this is the only natural source of milk-based calcium for humans, which of course is intended for our infancy. The sourse of the data listed here is the USDA Nutrient Database: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl . Please notify usda of any errors.
Right here I had a chart for calcium rich foods, but this blog would not allow me to display it as the chart is too large. See the next 3 blogs titled: Calcium Rich Foods for the 3-part chart. It's quite informative.
So, instead of reaching for that glass of animal milk, be it cow, sheep or goat, eat a bowl of beans, reach for the juicer. You'll get your calcium that will be absorbed and used by your body, you'll receive a medley of vitamins and nutrients and minerals along with your calcium. You won't be receiving all the hormones, anti-biotics and toxins that cow milk contains. You'll receive fiber that will clean you out instead of wrecking havoc with your bowels by either constipating them or loosening them to the consistency of water. That ain't fun! Nor is it healthy, by any means.
Think about it. Research it. Experiment by not drinking milk for a couple months, replacing it with a variety of veggie juices or any of the plant foods in the above list, and see what allergies, or digestive problems or bowel agonies you've been plagued with mysteriously disappear. If some kind of milk is a must, try organic soy milk* or rice milk. There are many good brands that sell both plain and vanilla flavored soy and rice milks. Frankly, I enjoy both flavors. The plain tastes milky and nutty and the vanilla tastes sweeter. Both are delicious and between the two can be used in any way animal milk is used.
I know there are many proponents for the consumption of milk. Of course there are, after all someone had to pay those celebrities to wear those silly milk mustaches on public television. This blog is not written to challenge anyone into a Milk War debate. It is merely my opinion based from my own personal experiences in noticing the vast differences in my own health and body with and without Industry produced, pasteurized, enriched cow's milk and via my own educational researches over the years.
There is a plethora of information concerning the advantages to drinking milk as there are of disadvantages to drinking milk. One just has to research and educate themselves and experiment by being actively aware of the differences in their body and health over a few months of removing milk completely from their menus and adding freshly juiced vegetable juices to replace it. But don't take my word for it, prove it to yourselves, and be sure to keep copious notes.
In the meantime, Got Carrot?
~ Dazzle
January 23, 2006
*After writing the above, I've since come across some serious information concerning the hazards of drinking SOY MILK.... please check the below links for more information. I will add more links as I come across them.
Dangers of Soy (Wrenn -- Wind Whispers : Detox Guides)
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