Conscious Eating Part 14

The ability to energize the SOEFs enables us to reverse the aging process to some degree. This occurs because the body becomes more organized in its functioning. Aging is the progressive disruption of the functioning of the living organism. Aging is an increase in entropy or level of disorganization. Energizing the SOEFs reverses the entropic process of aging. As a physician I see this reversal of aging all the time in clients who have come to me to improve their level of health. Those who change their eating habits and lifestyles toward more harmonious and SOEF-energizing ones seem to get younger.

These natural laws are no mystery. They are described in many spiritually based healing systems such as Ayurveda and the Essene "Tree of Life" tradition. When natural law is followed, people have a tendency to feel more flexible and energetic, mentally clear, and to experience improvement in all their overall bodily functioning. To clarify this point, there was a study reported at the American Geriatric a.s.sociation convention in 1979 involving 47 partic.i.p.ants whose average age was 52.5 years. It found that people who had been meditating more than seven years were approximately twelve years younger physiologically than those of the same chronological age who were not meditating. Meditating is a very powerful way to increase the energy of the SOEFs.

A simple physical experiment with a gla.s.s of brown sugar in water can help to metaphorically ill.u.s.trate how energy and order are complementary. If the water in the gla.s.s is not stirred, the brown sugar lies in a lump on the bottom. When the water is stirred, which adds energy to the system, a vortex swirl of water is formed which is a.n.a.logous to adding energy to the SOEFs. Into this vortex the brown sugar is also swept and takes a well-defined physical shape corresponding to a well-organized body function. However, when we take the spoon out, the vortex swirl of water immediately starts to become diffuse because energy is no longer being added to the system. Corresponding to this fall in energy, the brown sugar loses the clarity of its form. This is similar to what happens when we live in ways that deplete the SOEFs, with the result that we create by our lifestyles a disorganization in the body and mind.

Although this new nutritional way of thinking, like the old M & M theory, has not been conclusively proven by rigorous scientific standards and may not be until the necessary scientific instrumentation is developed, the SOEF model provides a useful way to understand the processes of health, disease, and aging. It gives us a new and more complete way to experience and think about how we take in our nutrition from nature.

The Choice of Vegetarianism.

IN MAKING THE CHOICE TO BECOME A VEGETARIAN, many subtle personal resistances and cultural and religious doubts often arise. There is also a great deal of pseudo-scientific rumor and fear that has been created in the public mind about vegetarianism. This section is specifically designed to address those questions. Contrary to current mainstream thinking, vegetarianism cannot be conveniently labelled and discounted as a health food or New Age fad. It is part of a spiritual and cultural tradition that goes back thousands of years.

The Judaic-Christian tradition and many of the oldest religions and spiritual paths of the world have strong histories of vegetarianism: Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, the Yoga tradition, Pythagoreans, and the Essenes are but a few. Currently, it appears that the Judaic-Christian tradition does not support vegetarianism, but there is ample evidence that in the original purity and simplicity of the Judaic-Christian tradition, there is strong support for vegetarianism. The point of this section is to help people let go of what they perceive as religious traditions that do not support vegetarianism so they can feel comfortable in their particular tradition and with their vegetarianism. Once given this information, people are in a position to make a more educated choice.

Preview of Chapter 13.

IN THIS CHAPTER WE WILL EXPLORE some basic guidelines for a healthy diet. The most healthy gift of life, according to the scientific evidence, is food in its organic, whole, natural form just as G.o.d has given us, and the healing power of the sun, water, and earth from which we draw sustenance. In short, if it is not broken, don't try to fix it. Are we ready to accept G.o.d's gifts as they are presented to us?

I. Criteria for judging dietary recommendations II. General guidelines to healthy eating A. Eat natural foods B. Eat whole foods C. Eat organic foods D. Eat primarily fresh, live foods E. Eat a high-complex-carbohydrate, low-protein, and low-fat diet III. Sunlight and health.

IV. Breathe, bathe, and work the earth.

V. Quality of thoughts affects nutrition.

General Guidelines for a Healthy Diet.

A CONSCIOUS EATING APPROACH TO A HEALTHY DIET includes going beyond our personal biochemistry to understanding diet as a way of consciously relating to the world. I call this the harmony of wholeness. It is understanding diet from the perspective of its impact on the top-soil, water supplies, air, animal population, human population, and its effect on peace in the world. Unfortunately, it now must also include the new art of learning how to live in a polluted, radioactive environment and in a society that is estranged from nature. The more artfully we can adapt ourselves, despite the nonsupportive culture we live in, the more we will be able to enhance our communion with the Divine. The fruits of our efforts will be increased harmony with our own evolution and the world.

The general diet that best fits with the harmony of conscious eating is vegetarian. A vegetarian diet allows us to follow all the general health guidelines that I will be discussing in this chapter, especially suggestions one through five. This recommendation does not contradict the concept of individualizing one's diet because within the realm of vegetarianism it is completely possible to individualize a diet that accounts for const.i.tutional type, acid-base balance, heating or cooling, yin or yang balance, the seasonal changes, work, meditation, prayer and other spiritual needs, digestive power, state of health, and all other factors a.s.sociated with developing an individualized diet. Although there will always be exceptions to this suggestion of vegetarianism, just remember that I am asking you to explore the question with me from many different aspects.

In presenting the dietary recommendations contained in this book, I subjected information to three basic criteria. The first is: Does it fit with economically and politically unbiased research conducted to date? For this research I look to such organizations as the International Society for Research on Nutrition and Diseases of Civilization (ISRNDC). Founded by Albert Schweitzer, M.D., the ISRNDC is comprised of several hundred top researchers, physicians, natural healers, and scientists from more than seventy-five countries. The organization is not supported by any industry, profession, or vested economic interests.

I also have looked to the doc.u.mented experience of authoritative teachers and natural healers of great integrity, such as Paavo Airola, Ph.D., Dr. Bircher-Benner, Dr. Max Gerson, and Dr. Edmond Bordeaux Szekely In the case of Dr. Szekely, over a thirty-year period at Rancho La Puerta, Mexico, he had greater than a 90% recovery rate with more than 123,000 patients with all types of health problems, including cancer, using an essentially 80-100% live-food, vegetarian diet. If people were very ill they would be put on a 100% live-food diet and then go back to a maintenance 80% live-food diet.

The second criterion for considering dietary recommendations is: Are my health recommendations in accordance with the historical evidence of thousands of years of actual practice in various cultural settings?

For example, nowadays vegetarianism is considered by some a novel and extreme way of eating; but vegetarianism is not a new idea nor is it farfetched. Vegetarianism is recommended in the ancient Persian Zend Avesta of Zoroaster, which predates the Bible by thousands of years. The Essenes, who were reported by several historians to have had an average life span of 120 years, followed vegetarianism and the principles espoused in this book. My general recommendations are also consistent with what I believe to be the diet recommended by the Greek spiritual teacher and mathematician, Pythagoras.

Studies of some of the healthiest cultures in the world, such as the Hunzas, Vilcabamban Indians, Mayans, and various other groups with a high number of centenarians, found that they all followed diets similar to the vegetarian diet which I suggest you explore in your process of conscious eating. Of course, not all these cultures ate exactly the same diet. For example, in South America, the primary grain is corn. In Hunzaland, the primary grain is wheat, et cetera. Most were completely vegetarian, although some, such as the Hunzas, ate a trace of flesh food on a monthly basis or for celebrations.

The third criterion for considering dietary recommendations is: Do my recommendations fit with my own personal and clinical experience as a physician working with clients since the early 1970s? Consistently, I have observed that the basic vegetarian pattern of diet and lifestyle recommended in this book has worked to bring health, joy, and spiritual inspiration for thousands of clients I have seen since 1973.

The points I make for a general program of good health and conscious eating are essentially those made by the International Society for Research on Nutrition and the Diseases of Civilization. The following is a list of these suggestions.

1. Eat natural foods.

THESE ARE FOODS GROWN UNDER NATURAL CONDITIONS on organic and fertile soil. These foods are consumed in unprocessed form in their natural state. Food is not natural if it is grown in depleted, chemically treated soil. These unnatural products of unnatural soil are sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. They often are picked prematurely and processed by heat or irradiation. This unnatural produce is sometimes genetically altered so that it can withstand long shipping distances and still look good cosmetically Commercial methods of growing foods have significantly altered the natural growing process. Commercially grown foods may sometimes look better than organically grown products, but the quality and nutritive value of these synthetically grown fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes have been greatly reduced. The nutritive value of organically grown foods is usually significantly superior to those foods grown commercially in the same local soil. One major study at Rutgers University found that organic produce had an average of 83% more nutrients in it. Of course, even the nutritive value of organic foods will vary from soil to soil. Because of this, I recommend eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains so that one is a.s.sured of getting the full spectrum of nutrients. In other words, rotate and vary plant intake, and if possible, buy foods from a variety of organic sources.

The entire world food supply depends on the quality of the soil. According to Topsoil and Civilization, every great nation has risen and fallen according to the quality of its topsoil. The sustenance of all animal life comes primarily from the vegetable life that is grown on this soil. The health of humanity depends on the health of the soil. Nutrition begins with the top-soil.

This crucial understanding has not been significantly appreciated by the commercial food producers or by most dietetic schools. We can no longer speak about a beet or a carrot as if they had a static nutritional content. The nutritional content of a food can vary tremendously, depending on the quality of the soil and the growing methods.

There are several other major problems with commercial growing. The use of synthetic fertilizers in the short term might produce what appears to be abundant growth and large-sized produce, but in the course of this process commercial growers add chemicals that upset the soil's ecological balance and thus the natural harmony between the plants and the soil. The plants become overstimulated and hurried in their growth when forced to mature too rapidly. The natural rhythm of their metabolism is disrupted so that they fail to fully transform their starches and acids into their normal plant sugars. They also fail to absorb valuable minerals. This problem is compounded by the common commercial practice of picking the fruits and vegetables before they are ripe so they can be shipped with minimal loss of produce. Because of this, most commercial fruits and vegetables are not ripe when they reach our kitchen tables. Not only does the produce have less taste, but some of the produce tends to be acid- rather than alkaline-producing in the body. These foods usually are deficient in nutrients, and their resistance to disease is decreased. When humans eat these less vital plants, we also become less vital and more p.r.o.ne to disease.

Not only does synthetic, commercially grown produce give less nutritive value, but it requires the use of pesticides and herbicides to eliminate insects and fungal growth on these less resistant plants. Many of these herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides are also very poisonous to humans. These poisons seep into the interior flesh of the plant from both the surface and through the roots. No matter how much plants are washed, they still contain these poisons because they have been absorbed on a systemic, cellular level. These human-made poisons also kill the normal soil bacteria and the earthworms that help form the humus which is so important for the plant's optimal growth. Unfortunately, even when some of the more toxic sprays are banned in this country, they are used in other countries whose produce we import, so that they come back to us in a roundabout way. In my own organic garden, I did not even spray with organic pesticides. I let the insects take their share and there was always plenty left for my family.

Unless we pay attention to our harmony with the topsoil, we humans, who are created out of the dust of earth, will return much sooner to personally re-fertilize it. The overall quality of our nutrition begins with the topsoil and continues through the normal development and harvesting of the plant. When these factors are considered, a healthy diet is more likely to be created, with its corresponding health dividends for us.

The best way to ensure maximal nutrition is to either grow your own organic produce or buy only organic produce to supply your needs. A nice way to buy organic produce is to locate a farmers' market where organic produce is sold. These markets can be found in many cities as well as the country. Introduce yourself directly to the farmers and find out about their farming methods. By doing this, your food and the person who grows it are no longer anonymous. In this way you become part of the food cycle.

Health and longevity exist in a direct relationship to the degree of naturalness of the foods you eat. Dr. Airola points out in Are You Confused? that nutritional researchers such as Dr. Weston A. Price, Vilhjamur Steffansson, Dr. McCarrison, and Arnold DeVries all studied the dietary habits of many "primitive" cultures and found that when their diets were comprised of natural, unprocessed, locally grown foods, the people had "no disease or tooth decay." When these same cultures began to use denatured, processed foods such as white flour and white sugar, canned foods, and insufficient amounts of uncooked foods, these researchers found that the "primitive" populations began to suffer from dental decay and the degenerative diseases of modern civilization.

Arnold DeVries studied the historical records of the North and South American Indians; Eskimos; Asian, African, and Australian aboriginals; and New Zealand Maoris. He found that all of them enjoyed excellent health, fertility, no tooth decay, fast and relatively painless childbirth, and minimal degenerative disease at comparable ages to those in our culture. As soon as processed foods of any sort were introduced into their culture, general health began to decline, childbirth became painful, and tooth decay became prevalent.

2. Eat whole foods.

WHOLE FOODS ARE THOSE that have not been fragmented or adulterated in any way. Whole foods contain all their original nutrients. They have been neither refined nor enriched. Every time a chemical or nutrient is added or subtracted from a food, the natural balance is disrupted. As described earlier, the yin/yang balance of the food and the proper synergy of all five elements are disrupted. After thousands of years of eating natural and whole foods, our bodies have become biologically programmed to utilize them in their natural state. When the composition of the foods is altered with additives, preservatives, dyes, microwaves, irradiation, or even cooking, the body is only partially able to readjust. The eventual result is an early onset of chronic degenerative diseases, as suggested by the cultural studies and the evidence all around us.

Recent history provides an example of the importance of eating whole foods. During World War I, Denmark suffered serious food shortages. In order to compensate, the government increased whole grain production and consumption, in addition to limiting livestock production and putting quotas on the sale of meat. Grain processing was stopped and only whole grain products were allowed to be sold. Farmers were directed to produce more grain, green vegetables, fruit, and dairy products instead of meat. After one year of this program the death rate dropped 40%. According to Paavo Airola, diseases that affected other European countries, including an influenza epidemic, only minimally affected Denmark. Denmark became the healthiest nation in Europe.

There is so much we do not understand about the subtleties of nutrition that we are essentially shooting in the dark when we start to alter and process our foods. Whole foods contain not only whole nutrition, but the enzymes and other factors needed to digest and a.s.similate these foods. They also contain a specific balance of natural forces that are programmed to affect the body in a particular way Plant foods have a wholeness and integrity that is more than just the collection of proteins, minerals, and vitamins found within them.

We have yet to improve on what Mother Nature has given us to eat. Plant foods simply cannot be artificially duplicated in the science laboratory. What are touted as improvements so one can prepare food and eat it more quickly, or so commercial growers and processors can make more money, can hardly be considered an improvement in terms of health and longevity As with everything else in life, when one "sacrifices the eternal for that which dieth in an hour," one's well-being is often sacrificed in the process. When it comes to food, it is not worth it to make cheap compromises with our health by selecting sub-standard building materials with which to nourish our bodies, minds, and spirits. There is no necessity to sell out our health and shorten our life so that someone else can profit from marketing so-called "longer shelf-life, convenience foods."

The use of fresh juices is one exception to the concept of eating only whole foods. See the end of this chapter for more details on the benefits of juice. Minimal processing by juicing is only marginally disruptive because all of the live factors are left intact. Raw juices contain all the elements of live food, such as the enzymes, minerals, and vitamins, in a concentrated form that is more readily a.s.similated into the cellular system with less digestive energy required. The primary part of the whole food that is missing is the fiber. The energy saved by not having to process the fiber goes toward the healing and repairing of the body.

3. Eat primarily living foods.

NTATURAL AND WHOLE FOODS ARE, by definition, living. "Living" or "raw" food means it has not been processed in any way, including cooking. As a result, none of the heat-sensitive micronutrients have been destroyed and the full life force and energetic pattern of the living plant are best preserved so that it can transfer the highest amount of its life force to us. Its SOEFs can most fully transfer their energy to our SOEFs so that we may live more vibrantly and in greater health for a longer time. A further discussion of live foods is given in the Stage Four presentation in Chapter 24. The minimum percentage of living foods one must eat to get the full benefits is approximately 50% (if they are eaten at the beginning of the meal).

4. Eat only organic, poison-free foods.

ASIDE FROM RADIATION, the poisons on and in our foods from the thousands of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, et cetera, const.i.tute one of the greatest dangers to health today. According to Paavo Airola, there are more than one thousand chemicals used in the food processing industry. Even if the food is organically grown, it is good to wash off the surface parts of the plant because of incidental radiation fallout, migrated aerial sprays, lead from automobiles, and other industrial pollution in our air. One exception to the thorough washing off of organic produce is root vegetables, which are somewhat protected from incidental airborne pollution because they grow underground. Another reason that one might not want to thoroughly scrub root vegetables such as carrots, beets, turnips, et cetera, is because B12-growing organisms are often plentiful on the surfaces of these vegetables. Simply rinsing off the soil from root vegetables is sufficient. However, in the case of commercial vegetables and fruits, the oil-soluble sprays and waxes applied to produce require that some vegetable cleaning soap be used with the wash water.

5. To maximize your nutritional a.s.similation, be conscious of the various subtle sources of energy.

ABROADER DEFINITION OF A NUTRIENT is anything that enhances the SOEFs. In this context, it is useful to include the cosmic energy we bring into our system from prayer and meditation, as well as the nutritive energies we bring in from natural sources like the sun, air, water, and earth. In addition to absorbing these forces into our organism through our food, absorbing each of them directly is important.

6. Obtain adequate sunlight.

THE SUN'S RAYS (CONTRARY TO RECENT BAD PRESS) are not necessarily a deadly enemy that automatically causes skin cancer. Without the sun, all life would die. The UV rays of the sunlight on the skin react with ergosterol (a pre-vitamin D substance) to form much-needed, natural vitamin D. The sun also balances the biorhythmic hormonal cycles of the body. Research done on people with vision-blocking cataracts shows many hormonal irregularities. Most, if not all, of these hormonal imbalances disappear when the cataracts that block the flow of sunlight into the eyes are removed. The Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks made significant medical uses of light. Herodotus, the father of heliotherapy (sun therapy), felt that sunlight was indispensable for people whose health needed restoring. Dr. Hufeland, in his 1796 book Macrobiotics, wrote: Even the human being becomes pale, flabby, and apathetic as a result of being deprived of light, finally losing all his vital energy ...

Medical doctors have begun to recognize a problem called seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which occurs when people do not absorb enough sunlight into their eyes. Jacob Liberman, O.D., Ph.D., points out in his book Light: Medicine of the Future, The medicine of the future is light-we are healing ourselves with that which is our essence.

Although our airborne pollution has burned holes in the protective ozone layer of the atmosphere and thus upset our natural harmony with the sunlight, recoiling in fear from the sun only further confuses the issues. We still need a certain amount of light on the bare skin and through our eyes to be healthy. According to Dr. Ott, the foremost light expert in the world, as well as Dr. Liberman, daily light exposure should be between thirty and sixty minutes per day of direct or indirect light. Neither recommends extensive outdoor time in the noon hours during the summer. One important way to get light into the system is not to wear anything but full-spectrum gla.s.ses or contacts. Wearing regular contacts, gla.s.ses, or sungla.s.ses when one is outside blocks our reception of the full spectrum of sunlight. Full-spectrum light is so essential to proper hormonal function that Dr. Ott cites four cases of women previously unable to get pregnant who became pregnant when they stopped wearing sungla.s.ses.

Excessive ultraviolet light may create a problem, but a certain amount seems to be needed for health. Both Drs. Ott and Liberman cite research suggesting that completely blocking UV light may actually suppress the immune system. Research in Dr. Liberman's book indicates that UV light increases the cardiac output in a high percentage of people, improves EKG readings and blood profiles of individuals with atherosclerosis, reduces cholesterol, helps with weight loss, and is helpful for treating psoriasis and tuberculosis and destroying infectious bacteria. Light therapy is used by Russians and Germans to treat black lung disease. Adequate exposure to natural light increases the level of the s.e.x hormones and activates the skin hormone called solitrol. Solitrol is believed to be a form of vitamin D3 which works with melatonin to generate changes in mood and circadian rhythms.

There are hundreds of studies confirming the health-promoting effects of UV light. Light Therapy, published in 1933 by Dr. Krudsen, cites 165 different diseases treated by UV light. In Australia, some interesting research by Helen Shaw published in the British journal Lancet found that people working outdoors, and even at high alt.i.tudes (which increases exposure to the sun), had one-half the skin melanoma compared to those working indoors under fluorescent lights. Perhaps we would do well to look at all the factors a.s.sociated with skin cancer rather than just myopically focusing on the dangers of UV light.

The key point regarding sunlight and its UV radiation is "moderation." It is true that an imbalance has been created by our poking holes in the ozone layer. This does not mean, however, that we have to compound this imbalance by completely avoiding the sun, the very source of life on this planet. This fearful relationship to the sun ill.u.s.trates how much our society is out of touch with the natural harmony of nature that has sustained life on the planet for millions of years. Sunlight is the nutrient of life. The sun is an outer manifestation of our inner light. Although the destruction of the environment alters the natural and normal balance, we should use intelligent moderation when it comes to exposing our bodies to the sun's rays. We must cultivate a healthy balance with the sunlight and not hide fearfully in darkness.

7. Breathe, Bathe, and Work the Earth.

LESS CONTROVERSIAL HEALTH-ENHANCING PRACTICES include deep breathing, therapeutic use of water (using various baths), and working with the earth.

Deep breathing brings in the healing forces of oxygen to help cleanse our system of carbon dioxide waste. The oxygen we take in supplies 90% of the fuel for our metabolism, whereas food only supplies 10%. Vitamin O, or oxygen, is the most important nutrient there is. Without it we would be physically dead within just a few minutes. Presently, many people have so little oxygen in their system that dark field a.n.a.lysis of the blood often demonstrates that within a high percentage of people there is red cell clumping. Often the cause of this condition is inadequate oxygen, a situation which is alleviated when deep breathing exercises and the habit of deep breathing are cultivated.

Air bathing, which is the practice of exposing one's skin to the air and sun with a minimum of clothing on, is another way that toxic waste in the form of gases leaves the skin.

According to Dr. Szekely, a daily water bath has powerful healing and cleansing effects. Daily bathing is considered by yogis to be beneficial for health and spirit.

Spending time in contact with the earth, such as gardening and taking long walks in nature, helps us absorb the health-promoting magnetic radiations of the earth. This is a little-known practice that seems to bring many health benefits. This is particularly important if one is spending a full work day in a high-rise city setting where earth contact is very limited.

Sunning, breathing, bathing, and earth time are all forms of more subtle, but nonetheless important, sources of nutrition that Mother Nature offers us. Being in harmony with these natural forces of sun, air, earth, and water provides a subtle nutrition that is essential to true health. This type of health is not simply the absence of disease that typically pa.s.ses as health nowadays.

One additional aspect of our nutritional intake is the quality of our thoughts. If our thoughts are in harmony with the natural and spiritual laws, then we will be more able to live and eat in a healthy harmonious way. Although the types of foods we eat affect our thoughts, eating a totally "pure" diet does not necessarily mean our thoughts will be harmonious and pure. Because of this, it is important to limit our exposure to negative or violent inputs that come from some types of TV programs, movies, and "negative thinking" people. It is important to spend as much time as possible in an uplifting environment with people who are generating positive and uplifting thoughts. The key to being able to generate positive thoughts is to start every thought with love. This means to feel, or try to feel, love in your heart with every act in life. The food of love is the most powerful nutrient we can eat.

Additional Considerations on Whole Foods.

The Benefits of Juice.

REFERRING BACK TO GUIDELINES #2 AND #5 and the mention of fresh juices, I'd like to elaborate on this important exception to the wholefood recommendation. Dr. Walker, who lived to age 116 on raw juices and primarily raw food, states in his book Raw Vegetable Juices that raw food is the nourishment intended for human beings. He qualifies this by pointing out that the transition to raw foods is a big switch, and the raw juices taken as part of the transition give a person many of the advantages of the raw-food diet without necessarily being on the 80% or more raw-food diet. Juices furnish the body with the live enzymes and bioactive vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, and other unknown factors that are destroyed when food is cooked. The juices bring an alkaline force into the body that helps to neutralize the toxic acidity from which most people suffer. These alkalinizing minerals help to restore the alkaline and mineral balance in the cells. They speed the recovery from disease by supporting the body's own healing activity and cell regeneration. Airola points out that raw juices contain an unidentified factor which improves the micro-electrical tension in the tissues and improves the cells' ability to absorb nutrients and excrete metabolic wastes. The use of raw juices has been a major part of many healing programs. For example, they are a major part of Dr. Gerson's therapeutic approach to cancer, a program which has been very successful over the last thirty or more years. Almost all European biological clinics that I am familiar with use raw juices as part of their rejuvenative program.

It was Dr. Walker's belief that when a food is juiced and the fiber is separated out, most of the toxins are eliminated with the fiber. If this is true, then this is another advantage of live juices. The combination of the live fiber in the whole food and the high concentration of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals of the live juices makes an excellent dietary program. Even though live juices are not totally whole in the strictest sense, because they are so high in live enzymes, I cla.s.sify them as biogenic (high life force), rejuvenating foods. Paavo Airola calls them the "internal baths of health and youth."

Many questions arise about the quality of different juicers. The Nor-walk juicer and other types of hydraulic press juicers are considered the best available. This is primarily because they break up the cellulose walls more effectively and make available more minerals and vitamins to be pressed out into the juice. The hydraulic press juicers are also substantially more expensive.

Other juicers, such as the Champion, are also excellent. Centrifugal juicers, which are usually round in shape, are equal to the Champion in efficiency and pressing ability, but they are less versatile in that one can use the Champion to make other types of food preparations. Regardless of what juicer one uses, as Dr. Walker points out, the most important thing is to drink juices fresh and on a daily basis, regardless of the manner in which they have been extracted.

The freshness of one's juice is vitally important. Some recent research by the Flanagans, as reported in their book, Elixir of the Ageless, suggests that the bioelectric, colloidal potential of most juices diminishes significantly overnight and is usually gone within twenty-four hours after they are juiced. Other health pract.i.tioners estimate that the enzymes in the juices are destroyed within a few minutes up to an hour or so.