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International
Journal of Alternative Therapies
Reprinted from
the "International Journal of Alternative
Therapies" Winter 2001; Vol. 28
by John
Winters
As I stated in
the last issue, nowhere is there more
contradictory information than in the field of
nutrition--high protein, high carbohydrate,
high fat, low fat–it’s enough to make you
almost want to give up.
Rather than
tackle the debate of what or what not to eat
in this article, let's see if we can reach a
common ground of what just about all would
agree on-- vegans, meat eaters, raw foodists,
40-30-30er's, et al.-- to be a beneficial
supplement. So, if nothing else, we would know
one thing that for sure, we would be able to
take that would benefit almost everyone, and
be objected to by almost no one. At least we
finally have a common starting point, as far
as supplements go. And if you're only able to
make one step, at least make it one that would
most improve your odds of increased health.
At this point,
most would be guessing a good
multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, as probably
the logical guess (a couple of years ago, it
would have been mine). But, remember, we're
trying to address all camps here; on the one
hand, you'd have traditional medicine warning
that the potencies are too high, and you
already get a" you need from your food,
and on the other you have those warning
against synthetic vitamins, and the body's
inability to recognize, and thus utilize them
properly (e.g. Vitamin E derived from
petroleum products, or Vitamin B12 derived
from sludge). Even vitamins labeled as
natural, such as E, though better than
synthetic, will not have the complete complex
of tocopherols found in nature. And many argue
that ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) found in
virtually all multi-vitamin supplements, since
it is not a complete complex as found in say,
a kiwi, will tend to leach copper and/or iron
from the body to try to complete itself. So,
that eliminates the first obvious choice.
A second
logical guess might be protein powder;
obviously protein is the primary building
block of the body. But then you'd have the
argument about what kind--vegans being against
whey, since it's milk derived, or eggs,
because it's a potential animal; others being
against soy because of its tendency to elevate
estrogen levels, or because of most of it
being genetically manipulated (GMO); and
others against rice powder, since it's an
incomplete protein. And the raw foodists would
be against all protein powders, because they
need to be heated to get to that state. So
much for protein powders becoming the
unanimous choice.
Thirdly, you
might offer bee pollen as that ideal
supplement. I've taken fresh organic local bee
pollen for decades, and continue to do so,
because of its complete amino acid profile,
and wide range of vitamins, minerals, and
nutrients. About the only thing you could say
it's missing are those magical phytonutrients
you can only find in plants. Unfortunately,
some people (including those allergic to bee
stings) are allergic to bee pollen, resulting
in uncomfortable, to downright serious
reactions.
Nutritional
yeast might be offered up by some, because of
its protein, enzyme, and B vitamin plusses,
but having used them, realize, the taste and
gaseous tendencies would not garner many long
term converts.
Which leads me
down this next road. It's pretty unanimous
that vegetables are a good thing to eat; green
veggies even better; and raw (because they
still contain their enzymes) better yet. Even
our government's U.S.D.A. urges us to have 3
servings of green veggies a day (which less
than 5% get). Green plants provide the
building blocks to enable a cow to build its
structure simply by eating grass. This
prompted me to explore the varied world of
green powder supplements, which are generally
considered superfoods because of their dense
nutrient content. There are those with just
one ingredient, like spirulina (a sea
vegetable), barley (grass), kamut (a grass),
blue green algae, and Chlorella (an algae).
All these products are beneficial, because,
among other things, they are high in
chlorophyll (chlorella being the highest, at
7%). Chlorophyll, (in Latin, "chloro"
meaning green, and "phyll" meaning
leaf) is what makes plants green.
Considered the
blood of plants, it is very similar to human
blood; the main difference being chlorophyll's
structure is magnesium centered, and blood is
iron based. This similarity provides its
enriching and detoxifying effects.
The two key
things to look for among these, or any of the
green powders are these: 1) are they
predominantly organic/transitional organic, or
wildcrafted, and/or pesticide free 2) are they
unheated, to preserve enzyme activity (though
apparently, despite what some claim, spirulina,
and chlorella, does need to be brought up to
170 degrees briefly). If these criteria are
met, you're moving from a good to a great
product.
A step up from
these excellent choices are the combination
powders that may contain a few superfoods in
combination, to those with upwards of 60 plus
ingredients.
There are many
such types to choose from, making doing so
bewildering, but let me give you one more
criteria that will whittle down your choices
considerably: eliminate those with non-super-
food fillers (such as soy lecithin, apple
pectin, or oat bran). Not that there's
anything necessarily wrong with those
substances (though some would argue against
the lecithin because of its soy derivation,
and also the chemicals used in the extraction
process), but because they can be easily and
cheaply obtained on their own, if desired. A
quick look at the label will reveal that those
fillers may comprise almost half the content.
So keep your superfood powders filled with
superfoods, or else you'd just be better off
sticking with the mono-green powder types.
These
combination powders, if done correctly, are
another step up the nutrition ladder, because
variety helps better assure the plethora of
necessary nutrients are being found. They
generally contain grasses, sea vegetables, and
algae. Some add sprouts and land vegetables.
Also, added by some, are probiotic cultures
(friendly bacteria), and enzymes, which help
with digestion, assimilation, and hopefully
utilization. One adds predigested nutrients
(by way of fermentation), seeds, and grains.
Another adds herbs and various nutrients. And
the thing to keep in mind is that these are
all whole food complexes, pro- viding
vitamins, and minerals in their natural state.
One goes as far as underlining on the label,
". . . not a supplement. It is a
biocompatible nutritional superfood. It is
non-toxic and can be taken in any
quantity" (Vitamineral Green). Another
states "More than a food supplement"
(Perfect Food). The point is, though I am
using the term supplement in the conventional
sense--as an adjunct to food intake--these
companies are considering themselves beyond
that; more food, than supplement (I think
justifiably so).
Using the three
criteria outlined above, I was able to narrow
the field to a very manageable 8 choices: (My
apologies if I missed any others that meet
these criteria, but I looked long and hard
just to find these six; and as you can see,
they are not exactly household names-- even in
the health food community).
1)
LifeSource (by Etherium Technology)
This company is
out of Oregon, not widely available, but worth
seeking out. Had I not talked to the owner and
formulator, Patrick Bailey (who back in 1983,
while at the helm of Rainbow Light, was the
first to coin the word "superfood"),
I wouldn't have known from the label that
LifeSource met my first two criteria (organic,
unheated). But thankfully, he assured me that
it did, because it is by far the best tasting
of the lot. It is the only one that is good
enough to even eat straight from the spoon, or
just mix in water. The others would need juice
to be more palatable.
One reason for
this would certainly be the small amount of
Stevia extract (a safe, non- caloric sweetener
from a cactus plant, which studies show
reduces brood sugar levels, and promotes
healthy teeth), added, but Patrick attributes
it to the combination of ingredients--their
quality and proportion--balanced and tuned
harmonically. These have been arrived at
through a unique trial and error testing
process involving three electromagnetic
sensing devices (a one- of-kind
electromagnetic image patterner, developed in
conjunction with Bechtell and Hewlett-Packard
which gives a black & white blueprint of
the energy field; a frequency monitoring
device; and Kirlian photography), that test
the energy fields of each ingredient in
conjunction with each other, and measure this
in MHz (Megahertz) of energy. This process is
called Energy Field Formulations. LifeSource
measures out at 121 MHz (a frequency closely
associated with DNA).
Patrick said
adding or subtracting anything from the
eventually arrived at ratio, just lowered the
frequency. (It wound up with 10 different
ingredients). Research indicates that foods
with an over- ride frequency of 72MHz or
greater increase the body's bioelectric
energy. Foods below 72 MHz deplete the body's
energy.
Patrick says
cost was never considered, only foods that
potentiate the greatest life force energy were
chosen. (This would explain their higher
cost). He measures processed foods from 10MHz
to 30MHz, fresh organically grown foods from
30MHz to 80MHz, and an average of 83MHz for
ordinary superfood products. (Thus, his claim
Life Source provides up to 36% more vital
energy).
His chlorella,
unlike everyone else's, is not broken cell
wall, but whole cell. He says those walls give
the very quality most unique to chlorella: its
ability to chelate heavy metals out of the
body. The slight increase in nutrient
absorbability of the broken walls, is not a
logical trade-off, and originated in the early
days of fending off spirulina's marketing
inroads.
Besides, the
good taste, its other unique quality is that
it seems to melt on the tongue, almost
immediately disappearing. Truly a very
superior product!
The seven
other finalists in this study are:
- Vitamineral
Green (by Healthforce Nutritionals)
- Gary
Null’s Green Stuff (by Gary Null &
associates)
- Immugreen
Plus (by Blender Culture)
- Perfect
Food (by Garden Of Life)
- Best of
Greens (by Organic By Nature)
- Pure
Synergy (by the Synergy Company)
- Superfood
(by American Botanical Pharmacy)
So, what's my
bottom line? Obviously, all the
above-mentioned products impressed me; and the
test revealed the attributes of green food
powders, are even greater than I originally
suspected. I've always (the last 5 years
anyway) had some in the house, and might use
some on a weekly basis, but now have been
motivated to use them throughout every day.
It’s a relatively easy step to insure
superior nutrition, and feels better than
popping pills.
My current
choices? Because of its taste, several times
during the day I'll just put about 1/2 teaspoon
on my tongue of the LifeSource. (Something I
probably wouldn't have thought of doing hadn't
I needed to do a taste test). It's quick, no
mess, no fuss. I might also sprinkle some on
my cereal or pasta. Because of its higher
cost, I'll save it for those uses, but I'll
always have it around.
Logically, it
seems if a wide variety of fruits and
vegetables is good, so too must be a variety
of green powders. Luckily, we have 7 more to
choose from. Each, so different from the
other, should provide the widest possible
variety of superfood qualities. So when it
comes time to make a smoothie, I'II use one of
these 7, and then rotate to a different one.
If I want to have a particular one because of
it’s attributes, I might make up a quick
drink with juice, or pure water and raw honey
(with a little apple cider vinegar to mitigate
blood sugar level spikes).
Live healthier,
eat Superfoods!
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