Avocado and Sunflower-seed Dips (raw)

Back in the day when I was juicing a lot, I had a lot of leftover veggie pulp. The juice I would drink early in the morning on an empty stomach, wow it went down well, and a couple of hours later I would put real food in my body. The veggie liquid not only hydrated my body but also filled it with nutrients. My digestion was so bad in the early days of candida, but I found this method worked for "feeding" myself. Wow, it took time!

So these are veggie pulp crackers. I added some minced garlic and herb seasonings to the pulp and put them in my dehydrator. Really tasty!

An avocado dip with 2 avocados, lemon juice and a touch of zest, salt and pepper. 

Since I blended this instead of mashed it, I probably added a bit of zucchini to give it a bit of moisture for blending but not to dilute the dip itself. 

Dehydrated tomato flakes and walnuts for garnish.

Sunflower seed dip.

Sunflower seeds soaked in a little water for 3-4 hours, zucchini pieces to give it body and help with the blending, olive oil, salt and pepper. A touch of cumin and garlic compliments the Mediterranean flavors of the avocado dip.

Naturopathic Medicine (Seoul, S Korea)

A few hours ago I came across a file that a Naturopathic Medical physician sent to me four or five years ago. I had gone to him for a discounted initial visit because my systemic candida just adamantly refused to get better despite all the strict diet I was implementing. I liked how knowledgeable Dr Sunjae Lee was, but my biggest problems centered around food. My body was so picky and would react to so many things, and Dr Lee listened but when he offered dietary suggestions, I was already doing them (note my super strict systemic candida diet), and so I didn't do follow-up. However, Dr Lee did share with me follow-up suggestions and this very informative PowerPoint on Homeopathic Medicine. It's very good and he would want others to have the information, and to give him a call if they had questions, so I share his info:

Gluten Ataxia: A Rare Autoimmune Condition Affecting the Brain

Gluten ataxia, a rare neurological autoimmune condition involving your body's reaction to the gluten protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, can irreversibly damage the part of your brain called the cerebellum, according to practitioners who first identified the condition about a decade ago.

This damage potentially can cause problems with your gait and with your gross motor skills, resulting in loss of coordination and possibly leading to significant, progressive disability in some cases.

However, because gluten ataxia is so relatively new, and not all physicians agree that it exists, there's as of yet no accepted way to test for it or to diagnose it.

But that may be changing: a group of top researchers in the field of celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity has issued a consensus statement on how practitioners can diagnose all gluten-related conditions, including gluten ataxia.

In Gluten Ataxia, Antibodies Attack the Cerebellum

When you have gluten ataxia, the antibodies your body produces in response to gluten ingestion mistakenly attack your cerebellum, the part of your brain responsible for balance, motor control, and muscle tone. The condition is autoimmune in nature, which means it involves a mistaken attack by your own disease-fighting white blood cells, spurred on by gluten ingestion, as opposed to a direct attack on the brain by the gluten protein itself.

Left unchecked, this autoimmune attack usually progresses slowly, but the resulting problems in balance and motor control eventually are irreversible due to brain damage.

Up to 60% of patients with gluten ataxia have evidence of cerebellar atrophy—literally, shrinkage of that part of their brains—when examined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. In some people, an MRI also will reveal bright white spots on the brain that indicate damage.

How Many People Suffer From Gluten Ataxia?

Because gluten ataxia is such a newly-defined condition and not all physicians accept it as of yet, it's not clear how many people might suffer from it.

Dr. Marios Hadjivassiliou, a consultant neurologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals in the United Kingdom and the neurologist who first described gluten ataxia, says as many as 41% of all people with ataxia with no known cause might, in fact, have gluten ataxia. Other estimates have placed those figures lower — somewhere in the range of 11.5% to 36%.

Since ataxia itself is a rare condition—affecting only 8.4 people out of every 100,000 in the U.S.—that means fewer still actually have gluten ataxia. Estimates are much higher for the number of people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity who have neurological symptoms.

Gluten Ataxia: Gluten-Induced Neurological Problems

Gluten ataxia symptoms are indistinguishable from symptoms of other forms of ataxia. If you have gluten ataxia, your symptoms may start out as mild balance problems—you might be unsteady on your feet, or have trouble moving your legs.

As symptoms progress, some people say they walk or even talk as if they're drunk. As the autoimmune damage to your cerebellum progresses, your eyes likely will become involved, potentially moving back and forth rapidly and involuntarily.

In addition, your fine motor skills may suffer, making it more difficult for you to work writing instruments, zip zippers, or to manipulate buttons on your clothing.

Diagnosis Not Straightforward for Gluten Ataxia

Since not all physicians accept gluten ataxia as a valid diagnosis, not all doctors will test you for the condition if you show symptoms. In addition, experts in the field of gluten-induced disease only recently have developed a consensus on how to test for gluten ataxia.

Gluten ataxia diagnosis involves the use of specific celiac disease blood tests, although not the tests that are considered the most accurate to test for celiac disease. If any of those tests shows a positive result, then the physician should prescribe a strict gluten-free diet.

If ataxia symptoms stabilize or improve the diet, then it's considered a strong indication that the ataxia was gluten-induced, according to the consensus statement.

Gluten Ataxia Treatment Involves Strict Gluten-Free Diet

If you're diagnosed with gluten ataxia, you need to follow a very strict gluten-free diet with absolutely no cheating, according to Dr. Hadjivassiliou.

There's a reason for this: the neurological symptoms spurred by gluten ingestion seem to take longer to improve than the gastrointestinal symptoms, and seem to be more sensitive to ​lower amounts of trace gluten in your diet, Dr. Hadjivassiliou says. Therefore, it's possible that you might be doing more damage to yourself if you continue to ingest small amounts of gluten.

Of course, not all physicians agree with this assessment, or even necessarily with the advice to eat gluten-free if you have otherwise unexplained ataxia and high levels of gluten antibodies. However, it does seem to be backed up by anecdotal reports from people with diagnosed gluten ataxia and from people with severe neurological problems associated with celiac disease: Those people say the neurological symptoms take much longer to resolve; while some stabilize but never improve.

A Word from Verywell

The number of potential gluten ataxia sufferers is very small when compared with the numbers of people with celiac disease, and it's also small when compared with estimates for how many people have gluten sensitivity.

However, many people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity also suffer from neurological symptoms, which often include gluten-related peripheral neuropathy and migraine. Some also complain of balance problems that do seem to resolve once they go gluten-free.

It's possible that, as more studies are conducted on gluten ataxia, researchers will find even stronger links between that condition, celiac disease, and gluten sensitivity. In the meantime, if you have symptoms similar to those of gluten ataxia, talk to your doctor. You may require testing to determine if you have another condition that can cause similar symptoms.

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Sources:

Fasano A. et al. Spectrum of gluten-related disorders: consensus on new nomenclature and classification. BMC Medicine. BMC Medicine 2012, 10:13 doi:10.1186/1741-7015-10-13. Published: 7 February 2012

Hadjivassiliou M. et al. Dietary Treatment of Gluten Ataxia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 2003;74:1221-1224.

Hadjivassiliou M. et al. Gluten ataxia in perspective: epidemiology, genetic susceptibility and clinical characteristics. Brain. 2003 Mar;126(Pt 3):685-91.

Hadjivassiliou M. et al. Gluten Ataxia. The Cerebellum. 2008;7(3):494-8.

Rashtak S. et al. Serology of celiac disease in gluten-sensitive ataxia or neuropathy: role of deamidated gliadin antibody. Journal of Neuroimmunology. 2011 Jan;230(1-2):130-4. Epub 2010 Nov 6.

Nut Ice Cream (Raw, Vegan, Sugar-free)

Who doesn’t love ice cream? With this recipe by Executive Chef Ken Blue at Hippocrates Health Institute you can experience not only one of the best vegan ice creams, but one free from added sugar! This recipe is a great option for those wanting to maintain healthy blood sugar levels while still enjoying a stellar dessert.

HHI Web Administrator April 11, 2018 Recipes

3 quarts nut milk (made from equal parts walnuts & pine nuts)

To make nut milk for ice cream:

Soak nuts overnight & rinse (discard water)
Blend 2 cups walnuts & 2 cups water
Squeeze through sprout bag
Blend 2 cups pine nuts & 2 cups water
Squeeze through sprout bag
Alternate this process between walnuts and pine nuts until there is 3 quarts of nut milk (nut “cream”)

Add to nut milk:

4 oz vanilla flavor (alcohol free)
4 T cinnamon
1 oz Frontier maple flavor
2 capfuls stevia (to adjust sweetness, add either more vanilla or stevia)

Lastly, follow the directions on your ice cream maker.

Raw Pizza

In the early days of full-blown systemic candida, I couldn't eat much of anything. It seemed everything made me react, so I went to a 70-80% raw food diet. Lots of veggie juices, no fruit, very very limited amount of grains and even limited amount of beans because everything sat heavily and "nervously" in my stomach. My diet was so so limited, but through avoidance of reaction-triggering foods and eating only what could support my fragile system, I gradually achieved less nervousness, and the atrocious pain and other horrible symptoms slowly subsided. It took months and months. I still have issues, but have added so much back into my diet that I can travel easily again without having to forage constantly for the "right" foods so that I don't have nasty food reactions. 'Twas a very very bad time.

I made these raw pizzas back when I was so sick. Can't remember the recipe but they were 100% raw and quite tasty ... though a bit labor intensive. The pizza doughs were made from 5-day-young lentil sprouts put in a blender and blended with garlic, a touch of lemon zest, whatever fresh herbs I had on hand (likely parsley) and salt. I don't think I was even using black pepper back then. I put them in the food dehydrator for about 5-6 hours, turning them once, and taking them out when they had enough consistency to easily stick together but not be too dry. Crispy and hard food requires the body to work harder to prepare the food for digestion as it has to be rehydrated through cell activity before digestion can even be considered. My digestion then was shot to bits so raw but dried food wouldn't have been beneficial.

The "pizza" crusts were topped with a raw sunflower seed and garlic spread. Tasty!

The Nutrition of Sprouts

Sprouts are truly a miracle food! They have 10 - 30 times more concentrated nutrients than even the best vegetables. Imagine the plant in its youth before the ravages of age have caused it to age and decrease in nutritional value. In its youth, in fact, in its first seven or so days of its sprouting, the seed has all the nutrients it needs to survive for those few days. All it needs is water and the right temperature with sunlight to help it grow. Otherwise, the plant is self-sustained. Now imagine yourself eating this powerful load of nutrients rather than the fruit of the plant in its older age or eating the food that has its nutrition steamed, fried or baked out of it. This perspective really makes one realize the power of sprouts! Those small sprouts have more nutrition than their harvested fruit or veggie parents! 

an entry from WHATINSPIRESU blog

Following are a few sprouts and their nutritional benefits:

Adzuki 

• lowers LDL cholesterol
• regulates insulin
• fights breast and colon cancer

Broccoli

• fights colon, prostate, rectum, esophagus, lung, bladder, and stomach cancer
• effective for inflammations and hot swellings
• effective for hangovers
• best among the sprouts for treating breast cancer: 1 - 2 T a day 

Clover

• relaxes the nervous system
• settles the stomach and treats throat and stomach cancer
• as an excellent expectorant, treats whooping cough
• promotes fertility

Fenugreek

• treats blood poisoning, failing eyesight, fevers, palpitations, liver and kidney troubles
• treats anemia
• increases mother's milk production (therefore people with breast cancer should avoid)
• notable as a treatment for diabetes

Lentils

• lowers LDL cholesterol
• regulates insulin
• fights breast and colon cancer

Mung Beans

• prevents prostate problems, glandular dysfunction
• breast cancer
• treats premature balding and graying

Radish

• cleans the blood
• as an excellent expectorant, treats whooping cough
• facilitates digestion

Sunflower

• excellent source of balanced amino acids for building protein
• activates every cell in the immune system
• builds skeletal, muscular and neurological systems

This information was presented at Hippocrates Health Institute. For further studies, the health benefits of 44 different types of sprouts are very well articulated in chapter 11 of the book Lifeforce by Dr. Brian Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute, a raw food lifestyle center. Scientific data about nutritional value in sprouts is published by the USDA in the National Agricultural Library at http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list, the USDA Food Composition Database.

Home Sprouting: All You Need to Know

Hemp Nutrition

Hemp is one of the oldest agricultural crops grown by man. It’s grown for its seed and fiber, and the seed is one of the most perfectly balanced foods we can eat. Phytochemically, it is a cousin of cannabis and for that reason has been outlawed to grow in the United States despite its proven non-hallucinatory and nutritional benefits. Hemp is a pure food from nature not a synthetic supplement. The seed comes from an organically grown plant that is not a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO), and that is naturally free from tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), gluten, dairy, soy, and peanuts, as well as being vegan approved.

Hemp seeds are one of nature’s most perfect and nutrient dense foods. The seed is small, but packed with a highly digestible plant protein, which is free of trypsin-inhibitors and carries 18 amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids making it a complete protein. They are an excellent source of iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, phosphorus, manganese, and supply folate (Vitamin B9), thiamine (Vitamin B1), Vitamin B6; they contain riboflavin (Vitamin B2), niacin (Vitamin B3), potassium, calcium and Vitamin E. Hemp seeds are high in dietary fiber. In addition to proteins, the seeds provide one of the highest concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids categorized as Omega-6 and Omega-3 in an ideal 3:1 ratio. The hemp seed oil also uniquely contains naturally occurring gamma-l acid and stearidonic acid. Basically, hemp is a superfood and packs quite the resume!

Specifics on Hemp Nutrition

The nutritional composition of hemp seed is quite unique and exceptional! Whole hemp seeds contain approximately 36% dietary fat, 26% high quality and digestible protein and 31% carbohydrates comprised mainly of dietary fiber, in addition to an interesting array of vitamins and minerals. 

Hemp seed’s dietary fat is primarily composed of polyunsaturated fats or the “good fats.” Hemp seed oil’s fatty acid profile is comprised of 80% polyunsaturated fats, 11% monounsaturated fats, 9% saturated fats and zero trans fats. Health organizations (1.) have recommended that fat intake should make up 20% to 35% of your total calories. They further recommend that most of your fat intake should come from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, while limiting the intake of trans and saturated fats. Hemp seed dietary fat meets this recommendation.

Hemp Seed Oil contains Zero trans fat and is cholesterol-free.

Hemp Seed Oil provides one of the highest concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) categorized as Omega-6 and Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) in an ideal 3:1 ratio. EFAs are vital for good health but cannot be manufactured by our body, so they must be present in our diet through the foods we eat. EFAs are both important components of cell membranes and are precursors for substances in the body involved with regulating blood pressure and inflammatory responses.

Hemp Seed Oil also uniquely contains naturally-occurring Gamma-Linolenic Acid (GLA) and Stearidonic Acid (SDA). GLA and SDA are direct metabolites of Omega-6 and Omega-3 EFAs, respectively. These two metabolites are important for regulating inflammation and auto-immune functions in our bodies.

Hemp seed is a source of high quality, plant based protein and is vegan. Analysis of hemp food proteins has resulted in a Protein Rating of 40 (2.) and above, meaning that the protein content in hemp foods is not only present in high amounts, but also of a high quality!

Hemp protein is free of trypsin-inhibitors. Trypsin is a key enzyme that breaks down peptide bonds in proteins, enabling protein uptake in the human body. Hemp protein contains no trypsin inhibitors, such as those found in other protein rich sources like soy that can cause flatulence and gas. Hemp seed and foods not only contain a high quality protein, available in high amounts, but they are also free of inhibitors that impede protein digestion making hemp highly digestible.

Hemp protein is very high in dietary fiber. Fiber helps to keep the digestive system healthy and functioning properly. The dietary fiber found in hemp is primarily composed of insoluble fiber, which helps with digestion and maintaining regular bowel movements.

Hemp is naturally gluten and lactose free. Gluten is a type of protein found in most grains commonly used in cereals and baked goods. Most people allergic to gluten have a similar reaction to lactose and soy. Hemp foods naturally have zero gluten and lactose content (3.).

1. Health Organizations include WHO, FAO, Canada Health and US Food and Drug Administration
2. Per Health Canada Regulations, Protein Rating = Protein in a Reasonable Daily Intake x Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER); Reasonable Daily Intake for hemp products = 64 grams.
3. Hemp seed is naturally gluten-free. However, cross-contamination can occur at the field level during handling, transportation and storage. CMJ supplier of hemp food products conducts regular gluten testing on seed lots to ensure that gluten content is <20 ppm, which is the acceptable threshold by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada for a gluten-free claim.

The above information taken from the site Hemp 101.