Blogs

This all-raw, nutrient-dense dip is an excellent substitute for dairy-based dips that are commonly served with vegetable platters. The creamy substance of this dip is provided by raw, organic cashews, which are naturally abundant in magnesium, healthy fatty acids, copper, and tryptophan.

Try serving this creamy dip alongside a bunch of celery sticks, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, broccoli & cauliflower florets, raw zucchini sticks, bell pepper slices, and any other raw vegetables that you enjoy. Read more

If you love pasta but can do without regular intake of refined carbohydrates, give this recipe a try - it calls for noodles that are made by thinly slicing raw zucchini into long strips; many raw food enthusiasts have long enjoyed zucchini noodles in place of conventional flour-based varieties.

The easiest way to make raw zucchini noodles is to use a special spiral slicer. There many different brands of spiral slicers on the market that you can view here: Spiralizer. Read more

Looking for more healthy recipes for the full body cleanse program? What follows are five green smoothie recipes - smoothies that are made with green vegetables and ripe fruit - that provide loads of flavor and nutrients to keep you going throughout the day. All of these smoothies are substantial enough to be full meals, so feel free to have "green smoothie days" during the full body cleanse program - days when you drink as many green smoothies as your appetite calls for, and nothing else. Read more

If you're doing your body good by avoiding pasteurized dairy products but you miss eating cheesecake, give this delicious dairy-free, all-raw, blueberry cheesecake recipe a try.

The "cheese" in this cheesecake is made with raw, organic cashews, and the crust is made with a combination of macadamia nuts, dates, and dried coconut. The recipe requires some work, but it's definitely worth the effort! Read more

If you love hummus but have a hard time digesting chickpeas, this chickpea-free hummus recipe is definitely worth trying. It calls for organic tahini (ground sesame seeds), but if you can only find tahini made with roasted sesame seeds, it's no problem to use that instead.

This raw hummus is rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, and tryptophan. Because of its high tryptophan content, when eaten along with a healthy carbohydrate-rich food, it's an excellent evening food choice for promoting a good night's rest. Read more

Peppermint and other mints are among the healthiest herbs that you can include in your diet. What if your body doesn't react well to ingesting mint-flavored foods and beverages? Before you say no to mints forever, I encourage you to consider that some mint-flavored products (especially candies, chocolates, and low quality teas) use synthetic menthol to create mint flavor and scent.

Synthetic menthol is created by using a crystallization process that generates contaminants, and these contaminants can affect the scent and quality of synthetic menthol. Read more

Since 1997, I've evaluated and worked with about two dozen people who have had knee or hip replacement surgeries. A few have reported having better quality of life following joint replacement surgery, while the majority have reported experiencing more difficulties than they did before having surgery.

If you have a severely deteriorated joint that prevents or significantly hinders basic activities of daily living, I think that joint replacement surgery is an option worth considering. But I think it's critical to do two things before undergoing surgery: Read more

Before we take a look at some of the best and worst foods for your heart, let's make one point clear: a healthy heart is useless without several other well functioning organ systems.

A strong heart can only keep you healthy if the following parts of your body are functioning properly:

• Nervous system (cerebrum, midbrain, spinal cord, vagus nerve, and sensory fibers)
• Respiratory system (nasal passageway, nasopharynx, oropharynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli)
• Digestive system (digestive tract, liver, gall bladder, and pancreas)
• Blood vessels (arteries, arterioles,capillaries, venules, and veins)

Assuming that all of the above components in your body are functional, some of the best foods for your heart and blood vessels are: Read more

As a follow-up to my article on Natural Ways to Increase Your Chances of Getting Pregnant, this article describes what men should and shouldn't do to improve sperm count and quality.

According to Dr. Bernard Robaire, a professor in obstetrics and gynecology at McGill University, men produce about 100 million sperm per day - about 1,000 sperm for every heartbeat. So in the vast majority of cases, improving sperm count and quality is all about providing healthy nutrients to make sperm, and making sure that one's lifestyle choices aren't damaging one's sperm. Put another way, men don't have to do much to increase overall sperm production; the focus should be on providing the right materials to produce healthy sperm, and then keeping those sperm healthy. Read more