After hibernating for 2 months it’s time to wake up, yawn, stretch and walk out of the cave to see what’s new.  Attending a nutritional seminar last weekend has helped to stimulate the winter-dulled mind and re-energize the  stiff, slow body.

At the seminar we learned that  consuming different colors in your daily 7 to 9 servings of  fruit and vegetables are the latest nutrition recommendations.  Red, Green, Yellow, White, Blue, Purple and Orange are the colors associated with different phytonutrients found in plant-based food.  For example, green fruit and vegetables contain EGCG, Lutein/Zeaxanthin, iso flavone, and Isothiocyanate.  These unpronounceable food factors maintain cell health, lung health, liver function and support arterial function.   Red fruits and vegetables contain Lycopene and Ellagic Acid which support prostate and DNA health.  Our bodies were designed to perform with optimal health while living in a garden of endless variety.  However, the  number of Americans that fall short of eating enough phytonutrients on a daily basis is 70 to 80%.

What to do?  How do we incorporate the phytonutrients from 7 to 9 servings of plant foods each day while getting a balance of all the colors?  How many of you grow your own vegetables and fruit without pesticides and away from pollution laden air?  Also, Cauliflower and Eggplant may not be among your favorites.  You can drive yourselves and your families crazy, forcing them to eat things they don’t like and trying to keep track of all of the colors consumed.  Or you can do your best to incorporate as many colors and servings into their diets as possible and take a good, plant-based supplement for what is lacking.  Everyone will be much happier with the latter approach.

My recommendations are to find a supplement company that grows, harvests and processes their own plant materials on organically certified farms.  Nutrilite is such a company and they have supplements for adults and children that fill in the gaps in your diet.  Also, when you shop for food, try to buy organically grown fruit and vegetables in a variety of colors.  The closer you are to the grower, the better.  nutrients begin to break down as soon as the food is picked and in two weeks time a piece of fruit can lose 50% or more of its vitamins.  If you live in a place that is frozen during the winter, go to the freezer section of the grocery store and select vegetables and fruit that have been flash frozen right after picking.

And finally, incorporate as many colors as you can into every meal.  Yesterday I had an omelette with mushrooms, celery and onions, a blueberry muffin and a glass of orange juice for breakfast.  For lunch I added celery and red apples to chicken breast and made chicken salad with raw carrots on the side and fresh pineapple for dessert.  The days of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn are over.  Try to introduce one new fruit or vegetable a week and if your family rebels, let them take supplements.  Just don’t give up, optimal health is too important.

I’m always available for advice on this topic at lauraelike@gmail.com and I would welcome your comments and questions on this blog.

Laura Powell Like

This month’s posting is about the 8th Pillar in Dr. Duke Johnson’s book, The Optimal Health Revolution, a healthy environment and good hygiene.   So, I attended a symposium on Green energy alternatives, etc.  sponsored by our Republican representative in congress.   He provided a forum and demonstration event for three groups with different focuses to come together and educate the public.  The first group are those who want us to decrease our dependence on foreign oil in order to increase national security.  The second group is developing new ways of producing energy because oil will eventually become scarce, or so the scientists tell us and with cap and trade on the horizon, energy prices will increase.   The third group are the people who have bought into the whole carbon dioxide is a pollutant and burning anything is contributing to climate change theory.

The best part of the whole  show was all the amazing technology moving forward with  energy saving.  The most impressive were the new LED lighting technologies which will replace the controversial florescent bulbs. They come in all types of applications and can provide the full spectrum of light.  From a healthy environment perspective there isn’t any mercury to dispose of and  they may be a possible treatment for seasonal affective disorder.

Coming in a close second is the polyurethane foam sprayed into attics and crawlspaces for insulation.   This particular company has found a formula without formaldehyde and has low VOC’s.  In other words it doesn’t give off inflammatory chemicals into your living space and pays for itself in energy savings.

The  third most impressive industry is electronic & computer recycling.  They take old computers and electronic hardware, take it apart and recycle it with absolute data security.    I can finally get rid of the old computer monitors in the attic, thus reducing clutter and contribution to a cleaner enviroment.

That’s all for this post, since we are coming to the end of June, next month will be exploring a new Pillar from Dr. Duke’s book.  So, keep checking the blog and comments are welcome!