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finally the Thanks Giving Dinner Videos are up and ready

The Videos of me showing you how to prepare the best Raw Thanks Giving Dinner EVER is now available!
Check it out
http://www.rawchefdan.com/Promo%20Adds%20Plugs/THD-2009-buynow.html

Raw Thanks Giving? The answer is here!

Hey all. I know there are a tone of "Thanks Giving" raw recipes out there but many look to have no real connection to Thanks Giving. I have a batch of recipes I work with Every Holiday and they really fill that Thanks Giving Craving, at least for me. I would love to see some of your recipes, you can post them as comments below and share with everyone.
I also am offering up a handful of my favorite recipes on video I created for Thanks Giving in the Raw.
Check out the freebie Video here
http://www.rawchefdan.com/Promo%20Adds%20Plugs/THD-free-video2009.html

Raw Thanks Giving Recipes from Raw Chef Dan

Just posted an an announcement about my Videos to be available in the next few days. I shot preparations of a whole Thanks Giving Dinner and the video will be ready very soon. In the mean time I posted a preview and free recipe Video. You can check it out HERE http://www.rawchefdan.com/Promo%20Adds%20Plugs/THD-free-video2009.html

Vinyl Gloves Protection or Poison

vinyl and latex leach a bunch of less studied chemicals that could adversely affect your health. http://www.typepad.com/site/blogs/6a00e54ef1b83b88340120a6329648970c/post/6a00e54ef1b83b88340128757b5182970c/edit?saved_added=nu

Keeping Warm On Raw foods

Was starting to write this myself when I cam across this article by Raw Coach Karen Knowler

Great Job well worth reading.

Feature Article

How to Make Raw Food Taste HOT! Well, there's no doubt about it. Here in the UK it feels as if summer has now pretty much bid its final farewell and there has been a very real nip in the air for a week now that is decidedly cooler. With this in mind, it's time to turn our attention to the more warming ingredients, recipes and meal ideas that can be incorporated successfully into a raw diet.

Today we're looking at 5 ways to make your food taste hot - all very different. There's bound to be at least one or two that will work for you. And over the weeks that follow I'll be sharing more recipes, tips and ideas to help you stay raw (or as raw as you want to be) during the colder months.

1: Hot spices
There are many ingredients that can add warmth to your meal, despite the fact that they are consumed in their raw state. When your body is fed foods that are cooked or that are too cold (from the fridge or freezer), it uses up energy to balance the temperature. Save your energy for something more exciting and add these raw spices to your meals (and thus your body):
* Black & white pepper
* Ginger
* Garlic
* Cayenne
* Cloves
* Coriander
* Chives
* Cinnamon
* Caraway
* Parsley
* Turmeric

2: Eat your greens!
I know I go on about making sure you include enough greens in your diet, whether it be a hot sunny day or even a cold wintry day, but there is a reason for this! Dark, leafy greens are what our bodies need at all times but in particular in cold times. They hold an abundance of vitamins, chlorophyll and protein to boost our immune systems and what's more, they are fresh all year round - even more encouragement to eat them every day! Sometimes people need a little guidance as to what they choose for their green consumption - celery, although a great food, is not a great source of "greens" in the truest sense of the word (they're more of a pale green and not very high in chlorophyll). Below is a starter list of great greens that will make all the difference:
* Kale
* Spinach
* Swiss Chard
* Broccoli
* Rocket (arugula)
* Chicory
* Collard Greens
* Dandelion Greens
* Mustard Greens
* Bok Choy
* Watercress

3: Kale & avocado salad
This is one of my favourite raw dishes that has become a staple part of my diet, not only because it is delicious but also contains an incredible amount of nutrition. The added cayenne or chili pepper will certainly warm you up.

Serves 1 * 4-6 large handfuls of kale sliced very thinly * 1 avocado * 3 Tablespoon Oil * 1 teaspoon Himalayan Crystal Salt * 5 baby tomatoes * 10 sun-dried tomatoes * ½ lemon * Large pinch cayenne pepper OR ½ - 1 jalapeno pepper finely sliced

Directions:
1. Chop kale into small pieces (this makes the fibrous cells break down and therefore more palatable, so the smaller you chop you better the taste).
2. Add oil and salt and massage into the kale until kale becomes wilted and soft.
3. Add avocado and massage again so each leaf is coated.
4. Chop tomatoes into quarters, add to kale.
5. Chop sun-dried tomatoes in small pieces and add to kale.
6. Squeeze lemon over entire dish
7. Add pinch of cayenne or your chopped chili and mix up well.
8. Serve and enjoy!

4: Warming foods
These are a list of foods to keep your body feeling warm. Ancient peoples believed that keeping the body warm came from within and found that certain foods could raise the body's temperature:
* Legumes
* Carrots
* Squash
* Parsnips
* Beetroot
* Walnuts
* Coconut
* Dates
* Red pepper
* Pine Nuts
* Chilis

5: Drinking at room temperature (less about making raw food hot; more about keeping you from being too cold!)

This may sound obvious to many of you but the temperature of your liquids can affect the temperature of your body. Can you imagine being asleep and waking up to someone throwing an ice cold bucket of water over you? This is how your body reacts when you drink ice cold drinks that shock the system. As with cooked foods, the body's enzymes and energy is used to try and control the temperature that you have just thrown at it. Try drinking your drinks at room temperature and notice how much easier they go down.

© 2009 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

This Week's Recipe

Winter Cabbage Wraps with Garlic-Ginger Dip Raw cabbage? Not necessarily my idea of fun - or at least it wasn't until I tried this recipe! Cabbage doesn't always "feel" right in summer, but at this time of year when lettuce loses some appeal, this is the perfect replacement.

I invite you to suspend disbelief long enough to make this and eat it... you'll be very glad you did!

Ingredients

For the wraps:
* White cabbage leaves
* Avocado
* Tomatoes
* Black pitted olives
* Coriander (cilantro)


For the dip: * Olive oil
* Water
* Lemon juice
* Lime juice (optional)
* Coriander (cilantro)
* Garlic
* Fresh ginger

Directions

To make the wraps:

1) Open the cabbage leaf and make a thick column of avocado slices down the middle, leaving a fair amount of space either side.

2) Pile on slices of fresh tomato, pieces of black pitted olives and top with a generous amount of fresh coriander.

To make the dip:

1) Pour a small amount (about 3 tablespoons) of olive oil into a small bowl.
2) Add the juice of half a lemon, and, if you have one, the juice of a lime. 3) Add about 20 stalks of finely chopped fresh coriander, a small piece of ginger finely chopped, and half a bulb of garlic, finely chopped.
4) Add water to make the mixture less oily, but obviously do not water it down too much, or the taste will be spoiled.
5) Serve the dip in a tiny dipping bowl and your cabbage wraps laid open or secured with a cocktail stick. Prepare for true winter decadence : )

Use this dip to give an oriental twist to the cabbage wraps.

* Don't like avocado or don't want to use it? Nothing to stop you using a raw pate or cheese in your wraps!

HEMP SEED: the most nutritionally complete food source in the world

This was sent to me by my business partner. It's really interesting and informative especially when I like hemp seeds so much. Great on salads!

by Lynn Osburn

          Seeds of the plant cannabis sativa, hemp seed, contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life. No other single plant source has the essential amino acids in such an easily digestible form, nor has the essential fatty acids in as perfect a ratio to meet human nutritional needs.

          The importance of hemp seed nutrients to human health cannot be fully appreciated without some understanding of bio-chemistry in life. Unfortunately, any attempt to understand the flow of life leads into the realm of the most troublesome of the three infinities -- the infinitely complex.

          Some deep thinkers believe life is a paradox not to be understood but experienced to the fullest. However, the Sages have said, "Know thyself." At any rate it is paradoxic to attempt simplifying the infinite complexity of flowing life. Yet, it is far better for the health and development of any thinking and feeling, uniquely individual human being, to pursue knowledge than to lounge in ignorance.

          One out of two Americans win die from the effects of cardiovascular disease (CVD). One out of four Americans will die from cancer. Researchers believe cancers erupt when immune system response is weakened. Pioneers in the fields of biochemistry and human nutrition now believe CVD and most cancers are really diseases of fatty degeneration caused by the continued over-consumption of saturated fats and refined vegetable oils that turn essential fatty acids into carcinogenic killers. And if this is not scary enough, more Americans are succumbing to immune deficiency diseases than ever before. Sadly it is ignorance of human nutritional needs that will cause this overwhelming majority of Americans to die slowly from these afflictions -- the greatest killers in affluent nations.

HEMP SEED PROTEINS AND THE
BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE AND IMMUNITY

          There are eight amino acids the human body cannot make and two more the body cannot make in sufficient quantity, so they are essential to life. A diet without any one of them will eventually cause disease and death. These essential amino acids, along with eleven others the body can make from them, are chained together in accordance to genetic guidelines, via RNA formats from DNA blueprints, into structural proteins that give body to life, and into enzymes (globular proteins) that carry out the mechanics of living.

          Nearly three quarters of body solids are proteins. The body is literally constructed and maintained by an infinitely complex system that simply builds proteins from amino acid sub units. Every amino acid consists of an amine and a carboxyl bound to the same carbon atom. All but the smallest amino acid have one, more or less complex, carbon containing side chain connected to the carbon atom shared by the amine and carboxyl groups. The amine group, ND, is slightly basic; the carboxyl group, COOH, is a mild acid. The amine group of one amino acid unites with the carboxyl group of another forming a peptide link. Proteins are made of amino acid peptide chains in specific sequences. The number of possible amino acid peptide combinations is infinite.

          Peptide chains can bend, twist and unite with other peptide chains by forming weak hydrogen bonds between nitrogen and oxygen atoms along the chain. Amino acids can also form bonds through side chain linkages. All three types of amino acid bonding methods contribute to the infinite possibility of protein shapes and reactivity potentials. Though each species builds proteins unique to itself, life can tailor new ones if challenged by the pressures of existence.

          Hemp is not unique in having all the essential amino acids in its embryonic seed. Flax seeds also contain all the essential amino acids as do many other seeds in the plant kingdom. What is unique about hemp seed protein is that 65% of it is globulin edistin. That is the highest in the plant kingdom.

          Globulins are one of seven classes of simple proteins. Simple proteins are constructed from amino acids and contain no non-protein substances. Globulins are in seeds and animal blood. Edistins are found in seeds; serum globulin is in blood. Edistins are plant globulins. And globulins along with albumins are classified as globular proteins. All enzymes, antibodies, many hormones, hemoglobin and fibrogin (the body converts fibrogin into non-soluble, fibrin, a blood clotting agent) are globular proteins. They carry out the main work of living.

          Albumin, globulin and fibrogin are the three major types of plasma proteins. Plasma is the fluid portion of blood that supplies nutrients to tissues. And the three protein types: serum albumin, serum globulin and fibrogin, compose about 80% of plasma solids. These plasma proteins serve as a reservoir of rapidly available amino acids should any body tissues be in need.

          Plant seeds contain albumin and globulin but no fibrogin. Albumin is the nutritive material that fills the space in the seed between the embryo and the seed coat. The embryo needs albumin to fuel its initial growth until photosynthesis begins. Globulin edistins within the embryo guarantee this new life has the enzymes necessary for metabolic activity.

          Globulin is the third most abundant protein in the human body. Globulins perform many enzymatic (causing reactions to take place) functions within the plasma itself. More importantly, they are responsible for both the natural and acquired immunity a person has against invading organisms. The body uses globulin proteins to make antibodies which attack infecting agents (antigens) that invade the body. Globulins like gamma globulin are absolutely essential to maintain a healthy immune system. They neutralize alien microorganisms and toxins.

          Globulins are divided into three classes: alpha, beta and gamma globulins. Alpha and beta globulins operate as transport vehicles by combining with other substances and carry protein from one part of the body to another. They haul the materials needed to build new and replace worn or damaged bodily structures. Gamma globulins are divided into five classes of antibodies called immunoglobulins. All are formed to combat specific cell invading antigens. They comprise the body's first line of defense against disease and infection. Immunoglobulins are produced by B lymphocyte (white blood cells) plasma cell clones located in lymph system nodes. Infecting antigens normally must pass through the lymph system before entering the blood stream.

          Regarding human protein requirement: "Qualitively, it is considered desirable to secure amino acids similar to those of human tissues, both as to kinds and relative quantities of the various kinds." [Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology, Kimber, Gray, Stackpole, 1943]

          During digestion proteins in food are broken down into amino acids. The amino acids are then taken into the body and reassembled into human proteins according to need and the availability of the amino acids necessary to make specific proteins.

          The body needs the necessary kinds of amino acids in sufficient quantity in order to make proteins such as the globulins. Proper quantities of the right kinds may not be available to the body much of the time. So even though the body has enough essential amino acids available to prevent deficiency diseases, it may not have enough to build quantities of immunoglobulins necessary for the immune system to repel infection.

          The best way to insure the body has enough amino acid material to make the globulins is to eat foods high in globulin proteins. Since hemp seed protein is 65% globulin edistin, and also includes quantities of albumin, its protein is readily available in a form quite similar to that found in blood plasma. Eating hemp seeds gives the body all the essential amino acids required to maintain health, and provides the necessary kinds and amounts of amino acids the body needs to make human serum albumin and serum globulins like the immune enhancing gamma globulins. Eating hemp seeds could aid, if not heal, people suffering from immune deficiency diseases. This conclusion is supported by the fact that hemp seed was used to treat nutritional deficiencies brought on by tuberculosis, a severe nutrition blocking disease that causes the body to waste away. [Czechoslovakia Tubercular Nutritional Study, 1955]

---

ANTIBODIES

          Antibodies are globulin proteins programmed to destroy antigens (any substance eliciting a response from lymphocytes: bacteria, viruses, toxins, living and dead tissue, internal debris, etc.). Circulating in blood plasma like mines floating in a harbor antibodies await contact with the enemy, then initiate a cascade of corrosive enzymes that bore holes in the antigen surface causing it to break apart.

          Antibodies are custom designed to neutralize or disintegrate one specific type of antigen. White blood cells called B cell lymphocytes seek out and lock-on to antigenic proteins or sugars on the invader's surface. The B cell then uses that lock and key pattern to make antibodies tailored to that antigen only. It also will make clones of itself called plasma cells. Most of the clones begin producing antibodies for that antigen. Others become memory cells which may spend years wandering through the blood stream looking for that specific antigen. If the body is exposed to it again the memory cells lock-on to one and begin producing plasma cell clones and a flood of antibodies that wipe out the invader. One lymphocyte can divide into hundreds of plasma cells in a few days. A mature plasma cell can make about 2000 antibodies every second for the few days it lives. This is how the body acquires immunity.

          The body's ability to resist and recover from illness depends upon how rapidly it can produce massive amounts of antibodies to fend off the initial attack. If the globulin protein starting material is in short supply the army of antibodies may be too small to prevent the symptoms of sickness from setting in.

          Hemp seed is the premier plant-seed provider of globulin starting material -- the highest in the plant kingdom. Eating hemp seeds will insure the immune system has the reservoir of immunoglobulin resources needed to make disease destroying antibodies.

---

Next issue: Part II, Hempseed Oils and the Flow of Life Force

References:

• Blood: The River of Life, Jake Page; Dr. Robert A. Good, Dr. Lawrence S. Lessin, Dr. Kenneth C. Robbins, consultants. U.S. News Books 1981.
• Fats and Oils: The Complete Guide to Fats and Oils in Health and Nutrition, Udo Erasmus. Alive Books 1986.
• Life and Energy: An Exploration of the Physical and Chemical Basis of Modern Biology, Isaac Asimov. Avon Books 1962.
• Organic Chemistry, R. T. Morrison. 1960
• Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology, Kimber, Gray, Stackpole. 1943
• Textbook of Medical Physiology, Arthur C. Guyton, MD. W. B. Sunders Company 1971.
• Textbook of Organic Chemistry, E. Wertheim. The Blakiston Company 1945.

 A study using frozen blood samples taken from Air Force recruits 50 years ago has found that intolerance of wheat gluten, a debilitating digestive condition, is four times more common today than it was in the 1950’s.

The findings contradict the conventional wisdom that the sharp increase in diagnoses of wheat gluten intolerance has come about because of greater awareness and detection. It now seems likely that dramatic changes in the American diet have played a role.

The disease occurs in people whose bodies cannot digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The undigested protein triggers the immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine, causing diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain.

The researchers who conducted the study also found that the recruits who had the undiagnosed digestive disorder, called celiac disease, had a four-fold increase in their risk of death.

More at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/23/Why-is-Wheat-Gluten-Disorder-on-the-Rise.aspx

Arrested For Chocolate

Like, busted for chocolate

Sweet treat triggers over-the-top narco response at the border

DAVID SILVERBERG

Feel like a little nip of organic chocolate while you’re heading to the Big Apple, Chicago or San Fran? Careful now. If you’re crossing the border with a fair trade sweet, you may get busted for drugs.

That’s what happened to Nadine Artemis and Ron Obadia, owners of Haliburton-?based alternative health company Living Libations. Sure, the New York State Police dropped charges of trafficking a controlled substance late last month – thousands in lawyer’s fees later. 

The culprit? Narcotics identification kits (NIKs), hyper monitoring mechanisms ready to blow the whistle on your tea tree oil or natural toiletries.

The story starts in August 2008, when the two raw foodists were stopped at Pearson Airport carrying their own brand of organic chocolate made of unrefined cacao, maca root, hemp seeds and goji berries. When Canadian Border Services applied a NIK test, their sweet treat registered positive for hash, and Obadia was told he would be charged at a future court appearance. 

The test, which takes a few seconds, involves a liquid interacting with the substance in a vial. If it turns any shade of purple, arrest.

Not surprisingly, the more complicated follow-up test by the feds a few weeks later came back negative, and the two were exonerated.

Fast-forward one month and those sketchy NIK tests nabbed them again, this time in Lewiston, New York. On September 11, the chocolate they were carting over the border to one of their clients tested positive – as did a bottle of tea tree oil and a natural disinfectant. “The FBI agent had never heard of tea tree oil, so it was comical and frustrating at the same time,” Obadia says. 

Again, subsequent tests sometime later by the New York state lab revealed no drugs in their organic products. But legal fees are still weighing down the couple, who owe more than $20,000, and their time spent in court has affected their business, which sells to Noah’s Natural Foods, Live Food Bar and the Big Carrot among others.

“Imagine all the other organic companies investing money in their product line,” Obadia says, “and now the RCMP and customs can arrest you for tests that give false positives.”

Are Canadian authorities relying on a useless test destined to snarl organic consumers and producers in its trap? RCMP spokesperson Marc LaPorte doesn’t think so. 

“In practice, these field tests are most often used at airports,” says Laporte. “Officers never rely solely on these results. They gather their grounds on the totality of the evidence. The evidence relied on in court is the Certificate of Analysis from the Health Canada lab.”

Yes, but the follow-up test happens quite a bit later, after hapless victims have already hired a lawyer.

At Forensic Source (formerly Armor Holdings), the Jacksonville, Florida, company that manufactures NIKs used by governments on both sides of the border, rep Mark Berman defends the product as “the benchmark for presumptive drug testing nationally and internationally.”

But Obadia says he tried out a NIK he bought online, assessing not only his chocolate but more commercial brands. All tested positive for illicit drugs, he says. 

He’s not the only one in the alternative health field quarrelling with NIKs. Mike Adams, editor of Arizona-?based NaturalNews.com and a consumer health advocate, found two nutritional powders came up positive for marijuana. “With these tests, anyone can find anything they want in the results,” he tells NOW. 

And the U.S. Organic Consumers Association has been watching the situation with alarm. According to Ronnie Cummins, the national director, his group tested herbs and even they tested positive. “This whole thing isn’t just incompetence. It’s terrible,’’ he says. “People are in jail because of this worthless test.”

The Living Libations duo are supporting a study probing drug tests, funded by the Marijuana Policy Project and Escondido, California-?based Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. Police in Newport Beach arrested punk musician Don Bolles in 2007 when a test made by Armour of his Dr. Bronner’s peppermint castile soap tested positive for date rape drug GHB.

According to Dr. Bronner’s Adam Eidinger, “The NIK’s false positive rate is about 10 per cent. This is an estimate from the hundreds of times I’ve experimented. Our strategy is to raise awareness so politicians will tell law enforcement agencies they can’t use these tests.” 

Source: http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=167423

Enzymes, diet and health, how do they work?