Raw Food Recipes – Tacos with Rice and Nacho Sauce, Sweet Potato Salad, Raw Pecan Pie, Raw Almond Chocolate Goji Berry  Protein Fudge, Goji Berry Tahini Truffles etc.

Spanish Rice (20 Min) in a bowl serves 4

1 head cauliflower grated in food processor

4 green onion, diced

2 tomatoes diced

1 orange or red bell pepper

Jalapeno pepper, diced (optional)

2 tbs lemon juice

1/3 cilantro diced

1 avocado (mashed in)

1 ts paprika

1 ts sea salt

¼ cup olive oil

 

Taco Meat (10 min at least 4 hours to soak walnuts)

In a food processor add:

2 cups soaked walnuts

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs coriander powder

1-2 tbs raw soy sauce

¼ cup fresh cilantro

1/2cup fresh corn optional

In a food processor, pulse about 15 sec, ( you may have to stop machine and mix it upto keep “meat texture”

Serve on Romaine, Swiss chard, cabbage leaf or flax seed taco shell

 

Macho Nacho Sauce (10min)

 

In blender add:

½ water

½ red bell pepper

½ pine nuts

½ sunflower seeds

1 Tbs Miso(fermented say, full of enzymes, Spouts carries it)

1 clove garlic

1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1 Fresno pepper (red Jalapeno)

1 ts seal salt

Blend on high until creamy, serve on top of tacos or as a dip for “chips”

 

Guacamole

 

In a bowl, combine:

5 avocados, pitted (set aside 3 pitts)

1Tbs lime juice or to taste

½ cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 tomato diced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

½ ts sea salt

Mash together, add 3 avocado pits to prevent browning.

 

Salsa (15 min)

2 large tomatos, finely chopped

½ small red onion, finely chopped

1tbl lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 serrano pepper

1/2tsp sea salt

 

Sweet Potato Salad

• 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
• 1 medium sweet apple, peeled and chopped fine
• 1 cup pineapple tidbits
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup organic raisins or chopped dates
• 1/2 cup Orange Sunset Dressing

1. In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, apple, pineapple, raisins or dates, pecans, and Orange Sunset Dressing or Holiday Sauce
2. Mix well, cover, and chill before serving.

Orange creamy Dressing

• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight and drained
• 1/4 cup raw unfiltered honey or other sweetener
• 1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in Vitamix or other powerful blender and process until creamy.
2. Pour over salad and serve immediately. For a savory flavor, add 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced.

Holiday Sauce

1 cup pecans soaked

1 tbsp honey

½ ts Himalayan salt

½ ts cinnamon

Pinch of cloves or nutmeg

Water to blend

Blend in Vitamix or other powerful blender, add water as necessary for desired consistency. Serve over grated yams or squash, serves 4

Pecan or Almond Cream Pie

Crust: 4-5 bananas and 2 mango. Sliced and spread over pie plate, mangos on top, more bananas on top and press down

In a blender:

1 cup pecans or almonds

About 10 dates or raw honey or honey or raw agave syrup

3/4 cup distilled water

Pinch of sea salt

1 tsp Psyllium to thicken (Optional)

Blend until creamy spread over bananas

Into bowl add little water, ½ cup pecans, 2 tbs raw honey, pinch of salt and stir. Put glazed pecans over pie and chill. 

Almond – Goji Superfood Protein Fudge

Raw version:

½ cup coconut oil

4 oz raw chocolate butter

1 cup caw chocolate powder

4 Tbsp. almond butter or any other nut butter or almond meal

1 scoop 25 g of protein powder of your choice

2 Tbsp Goji berries chopped

2 Tbsp of chia seeds

2 Tbsp of whole oats

½ ts vanilla

Raw honey (1/4 cup depends how sweet you like it)

Add coconut oil, chocolate butter and melt over very low heat (no more than 110 F), add raw cacao powder ans stir until smooth. Next add nut butter (or almond meal) and vanilla, stir until smooth and add all other ingredients. Mix well and keep in mind that fudge will get harder in fridge. Spread the mixture in a lined pan and transfer to the fridge and v=chill for 2 hours. Cut into squares and store in fridge. Enjoy those healthy yummy treats.

EASY Melted chocolate version:

¾ cup coconut cream or ½ coconut oil

4 oz bakers chocolate or dark chocolate chips melted

4 Tbsp. almond butter or any other nut butter or almond meal

1 scoop 25 g of protein powder of your choice

2 Tbsp Goji berries chopped

2 Tbsp of chia seeds

2 Tbsp of whole oats

½ ts vanilla

Raw honey (1/4 cup depends how sweet you like it) or 10 drops of liquid stevia 9 some people do not like stevia taste

Add coconut cream or oil and chocolate and melt over very low heat. Add nut butter (or almond meal), vanilla stir until smooth and add all other ingredients. Mix well and keep in mind that fudge will get harder in fridge. Spread the mixture in a lined pan and transfer to the fridge and v=chill for 2 hours. Cut into squares and store in fridge. Enjoy those healthy yummy treats.

Goji Berry Tahini Truffles

2 cups pitted dates (process a little in processor to get them started)

1 jar raw Tahini

¼ ts cardamom

1 ts vanilla

Pinch of Himalayan salt

¾ cup of raw cacao (if desired)

Option: raw coconut flakes or hemp seeds to roll the truffles.

Process until you have a soft pliable dough. Take about 11/2 ts of dough and add 3 dried goji berries and form a ball and roll in coconut flakes, hemp seeds or chopped nuts.

Raw Pumpkin Pie with Avocados

• 1 avocado, peeled and seeded
• ½ cup raw honey
• 4 dates soaked in 1 cup filtered water
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup raw macadamias soaked 8 hours and drained
• 4 cups raw pumpkin, peeled and seeded
• 1 cup organic raisins
• 1 tsp psyllium, I used soaked Irish Moss (a thickener and very healthy)
• 1 Nut and Date Pie Crust  (dates and walnut or almonds or pecans made in food processor)

1. Place macadamias along with dates and their soak water into blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add avocado, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pumpkin and blend until very smooth.
3. Add psyllium and blend well. Let this mixture sit for 1-2 minutes and blend well again.
4. Fold in raisins.
5. Pour into piecrust

Option, I use a pumpkin spice mix from the Good apple instead of the spices in the recipe

 

 

 

What is Quinoa and Benefits of Quinoa

Often mistaken as a gluten-free grain, quinoa is actually a highly nutritious vegetable seed rather than a grain. Quinoa is a vegetable related to beets and spinach that delivers a very rare vegetable-sourced complete protein with all 9 essential amino acids. (1)

We think of rice and beans being a complete protein because only when eaten together do they deliver all 9 essential amino acids. Most grains lack the amino acids lysine and isoleucine, and require to be eaten with a legume to become “complete.” Quinoa, which has been a staple in South America for 4000 years, is a low-fat, high-fiber, super high-protein, low-glycemic index, vitamin-, mineral-, and nutrient-packed seed. (2-4)

Even though quinoa is technically not a grain, it has been called “chisaya mama,” or “the mother of all grains.” It is considered sacred perhaps because it thrives during a long hot summer and, during drought conditions when other plants weaken, the quinoa harvest doubles. (1) As nature always answers the call, this high-protein food is harvested just before the cold winter months when more protein and fats are needed. (1)

While still considered a low-fat protein source, quinoa is much higher in fat than wheat and other grasses. It has a significant amount of oleic acid, which is a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil and has some (ALA) alpha-linolenic acid, which is a heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid. Surprisingly, these good fats stay stable or do not become oxidized from cooking, which happens with most other fats. (5)

Researchers believe that this is due to the high levels of antioxidants found in quinoa. It is high in the alpha, beta and gamma forms of vitamin E, polyphenols, and flavonoids like quercetin that lengthen its shelf life while protecting the seed from rancidity when heated. (5)

In addition to being a high-protein grain alternative, perhaps quinoa’s most current claim to fame is its effect on blood sugar. (6) As a low-glycemic food, it exerts little blood sugar stress on the body, but its high fiber content helps to slow the absorption of other sugars from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. (7) In one study, it outperformed 10 other Peruvian grains for its effects on weight and blood sugar. (6)

Interestingly, even though quinoa maintained healthy low blood sugar levels, it provided more satisfaction, satiety and fullness after the meal compared to wheat or rice, according to the Satiating Efficiency Index (SEI). (8) It also has a very high magnesium content that supports healthy blood sugar (9) and healthy blood pressure levels. (9)

As a natural antioxidant, anti-inflammation food that is just loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, heart-healthy fats, and a vegetarian “complete protein,” quinoa must be considered as a staple in the diet this fall and winter, as the need for healthy high-protein foods goes up

From Dr. Douillard www.lifespa.com

References

it’s not necessary to avoid eating in the evening hours to lose flab.  In fact, the right night-time meal can often positively affect your fat-burning results.  The trick, as always, is choosing the RIGHT foods before bed, and knowing which foods those are.  Here are some simple “rules” to creating the ultimate pre-bed meal:

1. Avoid carbs and insulin.  Because consuming carbohydrates will result in a significant insulin release (which will in turn put the breaks on fat-burning), carbs are ill-advised for a pre-bed meal.  Carbs are also much more easily stored as fat in the evening hours when metabolism is naturally slowing in preparation for sleep.  Besides, you have very little opportunity to burn off that energy when consuming carbs at night — sleep isn’t a very calorically expensive activity!

In addition to carbs, certain animal proteins have been shown to yield a significant insulin response as well, such as red meat and certain fish.  While these protein foods are OK for a pre-bed meal, there are better choices, like those mentioned below.

2. Choose slow digesting proteins.  Slow digesting proteins, like white meat proteins such as turkey and chicken, are great night-time meal choices as they digest slowly and fail to produce a significant insulin response.

Another great choice is the milk protein casein, found in our premium protein blend, BioTrust Low Carb, and also in cottage cheese.  Casein coats the stomach, digests slowly, and provides quality nutrition to your muscles over several hours…very ideal as a pre-bedtime protein source!

3. Add fat.  Quality, healthy fats such as nuts, oils, and nut butters are great additions to a pre-bedtime meal as they will help to further slow gastric emptying and digestion while increasing fullness and satiety so you don’t wind up snacking all night long.

Just follow these 3 simple rules for night-time snacking (slow digesting protein, low carb, add fat) and you’ll be snacking good while losing belly flab..

Superfood Chia – Many Ways to use Chia seeds 

Chia, pumpkin and flaxseeds, for example, all contain anti-inflammatory magnesium and healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Two tablespoons of chia seeds contain 18 percent of the DRI for calcium, 35 percent for phosphorus, 24 percent for magnesium and about 50 percent for manganese. (1 ounce of chia seeds has more calcium than half a glass of milk!)

Fiber is associated with reducing inflammation, lowering cholesterol and regulating bowel function. Chia seeds are an excellent source of fiber, with a whopping 10 grams in only 2 tablespoons. 

 

1. Substitute for eggs (1 ground tbs of Chia with 3 tbs water for one egg) in recipes

2. Thicken up Soups or Gravy – Add 1 ts of seed at a time until you reach the desired thickness. It needs a few minutes to thicken

3. Sprout Chia seeds for salads

4. Add them to  Brownies or truffles to increase protein and fiber

5. Add chia seed to coconut water, especially if you are an athlete for an energy mineral dring

6. Use in slow cooler to thicken sauce

7. Add chia seeds to beaten egg, soak for 10 min and make omelette.

8. Make Crackers – Make thin batter of chia seeds and milk and cook in slow oven or dehydrator to make crackers, you may want to add cinnamon, or vanilla stevia for sweet crakers or salt and herbs for salty crackers.

9. Make a Cinnamon Nut Butter – Add ground chia seeds to nut butters, or add to butter with some cinnamon,,

10. Make Healthy Pudding  – Add ½ cup of chia seeds to 11/2 cups of almond or milk of your choice. You can add cinnamon, stevia or any other natural stevia. Can be served with fresh fruit.

11. Add to smoothies – I love to add chia seeds to my smoothies, it makes them richer and thicker and the smoothie will keep me full longer.

High fructose consumption causes rapid, extensive liver damage even without weight gain

Living in USA, we are exposed to high fructose corn syrup everywhere. Why do all soft drinks, most cereals, breads, cookies, cakes, ice cream the list goes on… contain so much high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar? It is cheaper and companies make more money but what effect has so much concentrated high fructose corn syrup on the body?

The medical profession has overlooked some major pathological effects of fructose consumption and its effects on liver function. Regardless of whether or not a person gains weight from it, consuming fructose was recently shown by researchers from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina to cause hepatic steatosis, a non-alcoholic form of fatty liver disease that in some patients can lead to cirrhosis.
Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN), their study found that, by itself, fructose can trigger rapid liver damage even when all other factors remain equal. In other words, a relatively skinny person can sustain extensive liver damage from fructose consumption, even if he or she doesn’t become obese from it. Fructose consumers also have an exceptional propensity toward developing diabetes, according to the data.

In one study, scientists gave two groups of monkeys an all-you-can-eat buffet for seven years. The target group was given access to low-fat foods with added fructose, while the control group was given access only to low-fat, low-fructose foods. All other factors remained equal, and the animals were given equal access to whatever quantities of food they desired.

During the evaluative period, monkeys in the fructose group were observed to gain about 50 percent more weight than the control group. They also developed diabetes at three times the rate of the control group as well as severe cases of hepatic steatosis that were clearly unique to fructose consumption.

Fructose shown to damage intestinal flora, cause gut leakage

In order to verify that fructose itself, and not some combination of fructose and weight gain, was responsible for the high rates of liver damage, the researchers took 10 middle-aged, normal-weight monkeys who had never before consumed fructose and divided them into two comparable groups.

For a course of six weeks, one group was fed a calorie-controlled diet containing 24 percent fructose while the other group was fed a calorie-controlled diet containing a negligible amount of fructose, or about 0.5 percent. Both groups were given an equal amount of fat, carbohydrates and protein, but from varying sources.

What they found is that not only did fructose directly harm the monkeys’ livers, but it also altered the bacterial composition of their guts. In essence, fructose was found to cause intestinal microflora to leak from the intestines, enter the bloodstream and damage the liver — and at a rate of up to 30 percent higher compared to the monkeys that consumed almost no fructose.

“High added sugars caused bacteria to exit the intestines, go into the blood stream and damage the liver,” wrote the authors. “The liver damage began even in the absence of weight gain. This could have clinical implications because most doctors and scientists have thought that it was the fat in and around tissues in the body that caused the health problems.”

In order to avoid high fructose consumption start reading labels,  avoid any foods which contain high fructose corn syrup or fructose and trust me its in almost all processed foods.  Try cooking from scratch and if you need to use a sweetener try using raw honey, coconut sugar, stevia, erythritol, or xylitol.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.wakehealth.edu

http://ajcn.nutrition.org

http://www.health.harvard.edu

http://science.naturalnews.com

 

A Calorie is Not a Calorie

Eat less than you burn and you’ll lose weight – it’s preached as the “be all, end all” of weight loss and it’s completely WRONG.

Truth is, the number of calories you eat is not the only factor that affects your body composition.  In fact, there are at least 5 other factors that need to be considered, including:

1.The thermic effect of the food ingested.  The thermic effect of food (TEF) measures the amount of energy that is required to support the processes of digesting, absorbing, and assimilating food nutrients as well as the energy expended as a result of the central nervous system’s stimulatory effect on metabolism when food is ingested.  Of the three macronutrients, protein carries the highest thermic effect.

2. The fiber content of the food ingested.  Due to its chemical makeup, fiber is classified as a carbohydrate; however, it is unlike other carbohydrates in that it is a mostly indigestible nutrient.  Even though each gram of fiber contains four calories, these calories will remain undigested and will not be absorbed.  Therefore, if one were to consume 300 calories of red beans (a food in which nearly 1/3 of the caloric content is from fiber), approximately 100 of these calories would pass through the intestinal tract undigested.

3. The glycemic and insulin index of the food ingested.  The glycemic and insulin index are scaled numbers that refer to how quickly a particular carbohydrate source enters the bloodstream as sugar and how much insulin is needed to rid that sugar from the bloodstream, respectively.  Generally speaking, there is a positive relationship between the two; that is, the quicker sugar enters the bloodstream, the more insulin is needed to rid that sugar from the bloodstream.  When high levels of insulin are present within the blood, fat burning is brought to a screeching halt, which is anything but desirable for those whose goal is just that.

4. The macronutrients present in the food ingested.  Although insulin’s primary function is to shuttle glucose (sugar) into skeletal muscle, it also carries many other nutrients to their respective storage sites; this includes fat.  Since carbohydrate ingestion stimulates a large insulin response and fat ingestion gives rise to blood lipid levels, the two, when consumed together in high levels (especially in the absence of protein), promote the greatest fat storage.

5. The timing of the meals ingested meals.  Ingesting a large amount of carbohydrates before bed spikes insulin, sabotages overnight fat burning, and increases fat storage during sleep.  On the contrary, consuming a great deal of calories early in the day does not bring about this problem; rather, these calories are likely to be used as energy to support daily activities.

As you can see, someone could be eating a relatively small amount of calories daily, but at the same time promoting a great deal of fat storage by:

1) making poor food choices
2) eating carbs and fat together in large amounts without protein, and
3) consuming meals at inopportune times

Information from Joel Marion & Josh Bezoni Founders of BioTrust Nutrition.

Dietary Guidelines for Maintaining Healthy Brain Function and Avoiding Alzheimer’s Disease 

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the same pathological process that leads to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes may also hold true for your brain. As you over-indulge on sugar and grains, your brain becomes overwhelmed by the consistently high levels of glucose and insulin that blunts its insulin signaling, leading to impairments in your thinking and memory abilities, eventually causing permanent brain damage.

Additionally, when your liver is busy processing fructose (which your liver turns into fat), it severely hampers its ability to make cholesterol, an essential building block of your brain that is crucial for optimal brain function. Indeed, mounting evidence supports the notion that significantly reducing fructose consumption is a very important step for preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Because of the very limited treatments, and no available cure as of yet, you’re really left with just one solid solution, and that is to prevent Alzheimer’s from happening to you in the first place. Dr. David Perlmutter, the author of the book Grain Brain, explains that Alzheimer’s is a disease predicated primarily on lifestyle choices; the two main culprits being excessive sugar and gluten consumption.

• Avoid sugar and refined fructose. Ideally, you’ll want to keep your total sugar and fructose below 25 grams per day, or as low as 15 grams per day if you have insulin resistance or any related disorders. In one recent animal study, a junk food diet high in sugar resulted in impaired memory after just one week! As a general rule, you’ll want to keep your fasting insulin levels below 3, and this is indirectly related to fructose, as it will clearly lead to insulin resistance.

• Avoid gluten and casein (primarily wheat and pasteurized dairy, but not dairy fat, such as butter). Research shows that your blood-brain barrier, the barrier that keeps things out of your brain where they don’t belong, is negatively affected by gluten. Gluten also makes your gut more permeable, which allows proteins to get into your bloodstream, where they don’t belong. That then sensitizes your immune system and promotes inflammation and autoimmunity, both of which play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s.

• Eat a nutritious diet, rich in folate, such as the one described in my nutrition plan. Vegetables, without question, are your best form of folate, and we should all eat plenty of fresh raw veggies every day. Avoid supplements like folic acid, which is the inferior synthetic version of folate.

• Increase consumption of all healthful fats, including animal-based omega-3. Beneficial health-promoting fats that your brain needs for optimal function include organic butter from raw milk, clarified butter called ghee, organic grass fed raw butter, olives, organic virgin olive oil and coconut oil, nuts like pecans and macadamia, free-range eggs, wild Alaskan salmon, and avocado. Also make sure you’re getting enough animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. High intake of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA help by preventing cell damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease, thereby slowing down its progression, and lowering your risk of developing the disorder.

• Optimize your gut flora by regularly eating fermented foods or taking a high-potency and high-quality probiotic supplement
• Eat blueberries. Wild blueberries, which have high anthocyanin and antioxidant content, are known to guard against Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.

Source: Dr. Mercola.com

Chocolate – The World’s Most Powerful Antioxidant???

This metabolic rock star is what gives chocolate its melt-in-your mouth, satisfying quality.  Infused with relaxing minerals like magnesium and potassium, cacao butter ALSO has the antioxidants epicatechin and resveratrol that cools the inflammation that makes you fat, especially around your belly.

And it’s loaded with super-healthy fats like oleic acid (same as in olive oil), that keep your appetite DOWN and your energy UP and saturated fats like palmitic acid that strengthen your brain and heart.

SHOCKER: the cacao bean contains THE highest antioxidant power of any food in the world – 10 x more than blueberries and 20 x more than spinach.

Keep in mind though that if you eat the cacao bean in its raw state – you may think this is not chocolate!!! It is very bitter, high in fiber, and no sugar has been added.  So the candy chocolate you buy in a store is NOT a super food and is very unhealthy because it full of sugar and highly processed. The higher the cacao percentage the higher the antioxidant capacity. So maybe start eating 60% chocolate instead of milk chocolate and later work your way up to 85% chocolate. Ideally you can make you own raw chocolate which would be healthiest and you can add healthier sweetener such as raw honey or coconut sugar which has a very low Glygemic index or erythritol which has no calories.

Some research suggests that dark chocolate may lower blood pressure, improve cognitive function in elderly people with mental impairment, increase the beneficial HDL, protects LDL from oxidation, and lowers cardiovascular death. Very Powerful benefits.

I add raw cacao powder to my smoothies and make a delicious almond chocolate pea protein smoothie. Good for the muscles, brain, heart, and soul. =)

 

 

Can Honey help prevent and heal cancer?

 I love honey but have been limiting it because of information online saying how honey is just another sugar which we know is not very healthy and caused many diseases so common now in the USA.  Maybe this is true for most of the processed heated honey but here is some new research indication that honey really is a great food!

This is what researcher found out about honey:  “Honey is highly cytotoxic (causes cell death) against tumor or cancer cells while it is non-cytotoxic to normal cells. The data indicate that honey can inhibit carcinogenesis by modulating the molecular processes of initiation, promotion, and progression stages. Thus, it may serve as a potential and promising anticancer agent which warrants further experimental and clinical studies.”

If you are interested in learning about many more benefits of honey such as MRSA treatment with Manuka honey, improvements of blood lipids, skin infections, dermatitis, coughing, periodontal disease,  etc. check this link:  http://www.greenmedinfo.com/substance/honey

I will for sure use honey instead of regular sugar or Agave syrup.  It is important to buy good quality honey such as Manuka  honey or any local RAW honey which has not been heated and processed. Enjoy the treat and remember everything in moderation.

References:

Molecules 2014, 19(2), 2497-2522; doi:10.3390/molecules19022497

Effects of Honey and Its Mechanisms of Action on the Development and Progression of Cancer

http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/19/2/2497

ARE YOU IN CONTROL OF YOUR GENES?

In essence, you ARE changing your genetics daily and perhaps even hourly from the foods you eat, the air you breathe, the exercise you do, and even by the thoughts you think. That you can modify your genes is the focus of a new field known as epigenetics, and it is probably the most important biological discovery since DNA.

No matter what hand you were dealt at birth, you can take steps to “activate” the disease-busting, health-boosting genes and suppress those that will cause you harm. This is evidenced perhaps most clearly by identical twins, who start out with the exact same genetic code … but end up very different.

As you age, your genome does not change but your epigenome changes dramatically, especially during critical periods of life, such as adolescence. It is influenced by physical and emotional stresses — how you respond to everything that happens in your environment, from climate change to childhood abuse.

The secret is in the methyl groups that overlie the DNA molecule, which is the realm of the epigenome.

When a gene is turned off epigenetically, the DNA has usually been “methylated.” When methyl groups adhere to a segment of DNA, they inhibit the gene’s response.

Methylation-gone-wrong is now suspected in autism, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

You do not manifest disease merely by a defective gene, but by your epigenome. In other words, whether or not you develop disease is determined by how your genome is being directed to express itself. There are also “master genes” that can switch on and off clusters of other genes.

A Healthy Lifestyle Supports Healthy Genetic Expression

One way to look at epigenetics is this: all of your cells contain ALL of your genes. The reason why your skin cells behave differently than, say, your liver cells, is because the genes that are not needed by a particular cell are turned off by epigenetics.

Epigenetics focuses on that your lifestyle choices will determine the expression of your genes.  Just think of a body builder and a long distance runner. Their activity will determine the size and metabolism of their muscle, heart cells.  So how about if you eat healthy fat vs. unhealthy fat or high vs a low sugar diet, it will determine the EXPRESSION OF YOUR DNA!

Start today to encourage your genes to express positive, disease-fighting behaviors by leading a healthy lifestyle even before a disease has manifested.  If you have a disease already, it is possible to change you gene expressing to you will heal yourself.

Take the time to invest in your Health, Eat Healthy, Exercise, Relax, Do Fun things and follow your Passion and Smile a lot!