Well it's official; my sauerkraut is awesome.  It's the right amount of tang, crunch and deliciousness today, day 10.  Attempt #1 has been very successful. Next time I would probably avoid onions, but add tons more veggies like daikon, celery and maybe even apple.  

How did yours turn out? 

Immature broccoli is packed with anti-cancer compounds. In fact they contain 10 – 100 times more sulforaphan than regular broccoli. Sulforaphan is one of the many active ingredients in broccoli that gives it such a good name.  Specifically, this compound induces cellular detox that will cleanse your cells better than a pound of prunes cleanses your colon. And god knows you’ve seen the good work prunes can do!

By detoxing your body of certain harmful toxins your risk of them wreaking havoc (cellular mutation, cancer etc.) is greatly reduced. I’m convinced that a pinch of these on your next salad is well worth it.

Ginger:

Feeling gassy?

Instead of relieving yourself with a Dutch oven, try a dose of ginger; your spouse will thank you.

Touted for its many intestinal benefits ginger is much more than a cure for flatulence. Gingerols are powerful compounds found in ginger that are anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous. It’s easy to use too. A slice in some hot water for ginger tea, sautéed with a stir-fry, or juiced:  ginger’s flavor is complementary to many uses.

Sauerkraut:

Versions of sauerkraut appeared on Chinese dinner plates as far back as 2,000 years ago and the Roman writer Cato even mentioned preserving cabbages and turnips with salt. That’s probably because it’s pretty tasty and packed with nutrients.

Yes, it’s chock full of goodies like vitamins A, B, and C, as well as healthy probiotics, isothiocyanates,  and manganese.  I’d say that’s a pretty awesome nutrient profile for some fermented cabbage.

Here’s the best part: you can make it yourself!  I’m starting my first batch today and will document my journey on here each day, so stay tuned.

Move over Cadbury brothers, boyfriends/girlfriends, and cholesterol medication we don't need you anymore. With 4 simple ingredients you can whip up your very own chocolate bar that will taste better than Wonka's and will yield all the brain (and other body part) stimulating effects that the best of chocolate has to offer. Yep, it's that easy. In fact, it's so easy it's kind of silly how good it tastes.

Rewind...What kind of brain stimulating effects, you ask? Did you know that chocolate produces a chemical response in the brain that makes you feel good like really, I've just been making out with Adam Levine, good.  Not to mention the physical health benefits, according to this studyand many others it can help lower ldl and raise hdl cholesterol.

Now go forth in peace and enjoy some chocolate.


What ya need:
1.5 cup raw cacoa
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey
a pinch of salt

coconut as you see in my pictures is also an option...

Directions:
In a mixer add melted coconut oil followed by honey and mix thoroughly. Finally, slowly add in the cocoa and end with salt.

Spread chocolate out on a parchment paper lined pan. Lightly draw in the pieces with a knife (it's so much easier to break up later if you do this). Freeze for 20 minutes and then store in the fridge.

No doubt the overkill of products making big claims and then falling short of the desired outcomes makes people skeptical of any health products - hello ‘slim quick’ for weight loss or ‘flinstone multi-vitamins’ - for general wellness. I think those stone age vitamins have a better chance of causing kidney stones than delivering absorbable nutrients. It may come as no surprise to you that some products aren't what they claim to be, and likely aren't healthy. But supplements, do we really need them?

The answer is: most likely.  Certain things we NEED on a cellular level are sparse in our diet. Unfortunately, this scarcity hasn’t been happening forever either. Likely your grandfather didn’t need to take vitamins.  So what’s so different between his diet and yours?

 Our soil is depleted, our lives are hectic and we have way too many choices of what to eat.  We end up eating a lot of processed carbohydrates - cereal for breakfast, bread for lunch pasta for dinner.  Even if we throw a few veggies in there we are missing some key nutrients necessary for life.

We eat food-like substances, as Michael Pollan would put it, not real food.  What we are blissfully neglecting is the fact that this junk we are putting down the shoot is also what is going to become our cells. It’s not unlikely that this will cause major degenerative diseases.  You can expect to develop an awful disease if you eat these foods.  What you put in your mouth is the most important factor in disease management that is within your control. Use it to your advantage!

But let’s look beyond diet to include what we may need to supplement in our diets because most of us will need to address some holes that even the very health conscious need to consider.

The first is Omega 3.

Omega 3 and omega 6 are essential fatty acid. Meaning we don’t make them in our bodies and we need to obtain them from food sources. While some omega 6 is good, excessive amounts promote degenerative diseases like heart disease, arthritis and immune disorder and our typical diets contain a disproportionate amount of omega 6.  Among other foods, Omega 6’s are found in nuts, seeds, grains and vegetable oils which just about covers everything that is processed.  Don’t worry about getting omega 6 it’s in there, trust me.  Let’s move on to the one we should concern ourselves with, omega 3.

Why is omega 3 so important?

Because of the Omega3 fatty acids EPA and DHA!

EPA is the precursor to a group of anti-inflammatory molecules called eicosanoids. Eicosanoids play a key role in regulating inflammation, blood pressure, cell growth and immune function.  EPA is excellent for those with inflammatory conditions, at risk of heart disease, and/ or mood disorders.

DHA is concentrated in the nervous system tissues – specifically in the brain and eyes. Getting enough DHA improves cognitive function (and development – Mums-to-be!!!). Taking DHA (diet/supplement) protects against macular degeneration, dementia, and stroke, among many other disorders.

Where do we get Omega 3?

Well this is the tricky part. Omega 3 isn’t abundant in our diet.  The best dietary source is from cold water oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring.  Grass-fed animals also yield a decent amount of omega 3 in their meat.

Finding a good vegetarian source is where it gets a little grey.  Flax and chia are two of the most notable sources and have certainly got a lot of buzz for their high content.  However the plant sources, with the exception of algae, contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which must be converted in the body to EPA and DHA.

While there is much debate about the effectiveness of this conversion there is no question that in order to get enough ALA to even compete with the direct sources of EPA and DHA you would need to be eating a lot of flax. A lot!!!

Ascenta (a supplement brand) did a summary of how much flax oil you would need to consume to get the recommended daily intake of DHA and EPA and it would look something like 8 tablespoons of flax oil which is hard to stomach and is more than 300 calories…not to mention the expense (that shit ain’t cheap).

I don’t mean to disparage the vegetarian sources – I was a vegetarian for many years and probably would have opted for the flax despite the expense - $ and calorically.

The take-home message:

Eat lots of fish and take a fish oil supplement if you aren’t meticulous about getting enough from your diet – it’s totally worth it.  If you are a vegetarian find a good quality green algae and forget about trying to get your days intake from flax. Ascenta carries a vegetarian omega 3 called nutravege.  It derives its omega 3 from algal oil and echium – an invasive weed that actually contains SDA which converts well to EPA.

Well friends, that does it for round one. Stay tuned for round 2: Vitamin D!

As always if you have any questions feel free to email me or post a question on www.facebook.com/wildlives