Conscious Eating Part 30

Siberian ginseng is highly recommended. In addition to its power to help one recover from and withstand radiation exposure, it aids healing from high-stress situations. It is part of my travel and jet lag kit as well.

Yeast is the only food that I do not regularly recommend because it is not a live food, but my impression clinically is that it is useful during times of radiation stress.

Preview of Chapter 30.

IN THIS CHAPTER WE DISCUSS preparation for pregnancy, appropriate nutrition for pregnancy, and nutrition for lactation, covering all aspects of the process. Vegetarian, vegan, and live-food pregnancy approaches are all explored. This chapter is dedicated to supporting those parents who are trying to break the cycle of mental and physical degeneration that is happening in our society. It is no guarantee of a perfectly healthy birth and postpartum experience for the mother, but it certainly will help.

I. Holiness of pregnancy A. Spiritual preparation B. Emotional preparation C. Physical preparation II. Optimal diet for pregnancy A. General guidelines B. Pregnancy superfoods.

C. Basic nutrients for pregnancy.

D. Lactation.

Nutrition for Pregnancy.

PREGNANCY IS A HOLY TIME. How we prepare for it profoundly affects the life of the wonderful being that is coming into the world. Because of this I am using my broader definition of nutrition as the basis for this chapter. I am including as nutrition all the energies that affect the life of the mother and the emerging fetus. I have explained the importance of healthy germ plasm (sperm and ova) on the expression of heredity in Chapter 8. I have made a strong point that the quality of health of the parents significantly affects the health of the germ plasm and the formation of the fetus. It has become obvious that the health of the mother during pregnancy profoundly affects the health of the fetus. In the Pottenger Cat Study also discussed in Chapter 8, kittens born of mothers with deficient nutrition, even when given optimal nutrition and thyroid and adrenal hormones, and put on the raw-food diet, were not able to develop into a normal cat. Researchers observed that a deficiency produced in a nursing kitten from a healthy mother is not nearly as severe as that produced when a kitten is born from a mother with deficient nutrition during gestation.

The point is clear. What we do as parents profoundly affects the health of our developing babies in a way that can be irreversible after birth. In this chapter we look at how we can fulfill this basic parental responsibility at an optimal level. If in reading this chapter you become aware of things you did not do to prepare yourself for your children, it is important to forgive yourself for what you did not know. If you are having more children, give yourself the opportunity to do it with a higher degree of consciousness and preparation.

Human pre-pregnancy and prenatal nutrition has the potential to minimize the influence of heredity. The will, thoughts, feelings, and desires of conscious parents, and most particularly the mother, may positively or negatively affect the expression of heredity and the consciousness of the child during pregnancy and lactation. In India, people have had this awareness for thousands of years. There are stories of Indian queens and kings playing different music and having different meditations during pregnancy in order to affect the consciousness of the fetus. If they wanted to create a warrior, they played certain war energy music and created certain thought-forms. If they wanted a more spiritual child, they played spiritual music and focused on different prayers and meditations. In our culture, if a mother spends her time watching TV and going to violent movies, it will have a different effect on the fetus than if she spends her time meditating, dancing, and playing loving and spiritually uplifting music to the fetus.

What parents do affects the consciousness of the fetus. In my work as a psychiatrist using the Zero Point psychospiritual process, I have discovered that the emotions of the mother-and even the father, in some cases- have a significant influence on the consciousness of the developing fetus in a way that affects the fetus even after it becomes an adult. These emotional and mental patterns seem to be reversible only when I help the person regress back to the womb to clear the negative thoughtform or emotion that was created there. The need for this type of healing journey arises regularly. One of the most important health-producing experiences of the fetus is to be loved and wanted at all times by both parents. The spiritual, mental, and emotional state of the parents and particularly the mother has the strongest influence on the spiritual, emotional, mental, and intellectual qualities of the developing person. The prayers, meditations, and visualizations of the parents have the potential to instill a moral, intellectual, physical, and spiritual fiber in children that will empower them their whole lives.

The quality of relationship of the parents also plays an important role. My clinical experience over the past ten years of exploring this area leads me to conclude that when parents are loving and respectful to each other and the mother feels loved, respected, honored, safe, and peaceful, the child will come into the world with these feelings. If the mother is in a state of fear or anxiety, and is feeling unloved or unwanted by her mate, the fetus often takes these feelings on as its own and carries them its whole life unless there is a psychospiritual intervention. Sometimes, as part of my pregnancy preparation process, I will do some short-term couple therapy to support prospective parents in enhancing their love energy Treating the mother as if she is an aspect of the Divine Mother energy-with the holy responsibility of bringing a new being of light into the world-is a powerful practice during pregnancy, if not all the time. The fetus and the whole family will benefit from this approach.

Preparation for Pregnancy.

ILIKE TO SEE PARENTS PREPARE FOR PREGNANCY at least one year before they are ready to actually get pregnant. Getting ready for pregnancy can be a nodal point in parents' lives for looking at their lifestyle and making changes that can bring them to another level of physical, emotional, and spiritual consciousness.

When parents come to me for pregnancy preparation, I recommend that they begin to pray and meditate to enhance inner peace and awareness. Breathing exercises are recommended to increase oxygen content of the blood and to better oxygenate the fetal growth and development. A program of aerobic exercise and hatha yoga improves the flow of the lymphatic system, improves the functioning of all the organs, and tonifies and strengthens the mother for pregnancy and delivery. There are special exercises for pregnant women, but moderate to vigorous walking of at least one-half hour four or five times per week is sufficient. One note about this: Animal studies show that when the internal body temperature rises above 102 F, there is an increase in congenital defects. Extended strenuous exercise like long-distance running on a hot day can elevate your internal temperature to this level, but walking rapidly for one-half hour in the morning probably won't. However, if you are a person with a pitta const.i.tution or you tend to overheat easily, it is best to err on the side of moderation. An early walk for some people is also a good way to relieve the nausea of morning sickness. Yoga cla.s.ses for pregnant women are available in most parts of the country.

Clean, nonchlorinated water is important for cleansing and rehydrating. Chlorinated water, according to one study at the University of Perugia in Italy may indirectly damage genetic material. I do not recommend distilled water because it can tend to leach out the minerals from the body and it is destructured from heat. We need both organic and inorganic minerals for optimal health.

At least one-half hour of sunlight per day is important for the stimulation of all the organs and most specifically the pineal and the pituitary glands. Sunlight is needed for the proper functioning of the whole endocrine system and for the production of vitamin D needed for the fetus. If one lives in a northern climate with limited sunlight, at least three hours per day of exposure to full-spectrum lighting is helpful.

Adequate sleep, rest, and relaxation are important to recover from the stresses of modern life. From the hours of ten in the evening to two in the early morning the immune system does its most regenerating, while we are asleep.

One of my nutritional mentors, Dr. Paavo Airola, strongly recommends juice fasting as part of the pregnancy preparation. I agree with him that juice fasting is the safest and most effective way to restore health and prevent disease. It is a powerful way to remove toxins. Airola recommends one or two juice fasts before conception. I recommend two one-week juice fasts in the year before conception. I often refer people to my spiritual fasting retreats at the Tree of Life, where they are able to learn many of the lifestyle skills and practices that I recommend. The spiritual fasting retreats provide a safe and inspiring s.p.a.ce for people to make and retain the lifestyle changes that can best prepare them for conception and pregnancy. It is generally not recommended that women fast while pregnant.

Pre-pregnancy is a good time to eliminate toxic habits such as smoking, alcohol use, drug use including allopathic drugs (unless considered medically critical for health), excess use of salt, white sugar, and flour, and consumption of coffee, caffeine, cola drinks, and all soft drinks.

Smoking is not only detrimental to the mother's health, but to the health of the fetus. One study at Laval University of Quebec, Canada, found that smoking during pregnancy increased perinatal mortality by 24%. One Swedish study showed that the incidence of deaths during the first year of life is 60% higher if the mother smokes during pregnancy. Another study found that maternal smoking during pregnancy increased the risk of childhood cancer by 50%.

Some research suggests that the nicotine goes directly into the blood of the fetus and overstimulates its adrenal glands and thus stimulates the heart rate. The carbon monoxide from the smoking further robs oxygen from the mother and fetus. The increased heart rate and decreased availability of oxygen stress the infant.

Smoking also decreases birth weight. A decreased birth weight is a.s.sociated with a weaker infant resistance to disease and increased mental r.e.t.a.r.dation, seizures, and vision problems. Harvard researchers reported that the lung size in children of mothers who smoke during pregnancy is 10% less than normal. This may help explain the higher incidence of respiratory disease in babies of smokers. The potential for respiratory disease is increased by the hazards of pa.s.sive smoking if a mother chooses to start smoking or continues to smoke after giving birth. The Journal of the American Medical a.s.sociation (JAMA) reported that nicotine is found in the breast milk of mothers who smoke. In 1978, a JAMA summary of forty years of research on the impact of smoking during pregnancy concluded that women who smoke during pregnancy risk the life of the fetus since the incidence of spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and premature deliveries is so much higher. It also concluded that babies of smokers have r.e.t.a.r.ded growth and an increased incidence of congenital defects, cancer, hypertension, and heart disease.

Even a small amount of alcohol can create a fetal alcohol syndrome. According to Dr. David Smith, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, alcohol is the most common cause of birth defects. There is some good evidence that the IQs of the children of mothers who drink during pregnancy are significantly diminished. There also seems to be a higher incidence of mental r.e.t.a.r.dation. A heavy drinker has a 30 to 50% chance of producing a baby with some sort of congenital defect. It does not seem to make a difference if the alcohol is hard liquor, wine, or beer. Some studies suggest that even occasional binge drinking can increase the rate of malformations and other birth defects, with a specifically increased incidence of slight facial, limb, and cardiac malformations. Alcohol decreases the ability of the immune system to utilize the prostaglandins it needs to work optimally. Alcohol does cross the placental barrier and affects the brain development and consciousness of the fetus. The strong reasons for not drinking any alcohol during pregnancy are very compelling.

All drugs should be eliminated during pregnancy including aspirin, especially during the first trimester. Studies at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta showed that mothers who take Valium in the first trimester have a four times higher incidence of cleft lips or cleft palate in their babies. Aspirin taken in the last trimester can cause premature labor, jaundice, and bleeding in the infant. Acetaminophen drugs like Tylenol can cause kidney problems in infants. Antihistamines can cause seizures. Sulfa drugs may cause jaundice. Bronchial medications may cause goiter. In general, sleeping pills and pain pills are best avoided. Accutane for acne before pregnancy as well as during the first three months has been linked with abnormalities of the fetal head and brain. Some herbs can also cause problems. Most often they cause abortions. These herbs include black cohosh, blue cohosh, gold-enseal, cinnamon, h.e.l.lebore, tansy, pennyroyal, cotton root, cramp bark, and wild yam. Some anti-nausea drugs may also be dangerous. Bendectin, a prescription drug used for more than a decade, was banned by the FDA because it is thought to cause birth defects.

I strongly recommend that mothers avoid all X-rays during pregnancy, including dental and chiropractic. The incidence of childhood leukemia is increased twelve-fold by one X-ray taken in the first trimester. This is discussed in detail in Chapter 29.

Salt is something that should be minimized. Excess salt can cause general swelling, edema, and hypertension, which are common pregnancy complications. Pregnancy actually increases the salt need by one-third, to approximately three thousand milligrams per day. However, most people who add salt to their food take in seven thousand milligrams per day. During pregnancy one should minimize even soy sauce and ask restaurants to prepare food without salt. Some packaged foods like dried soup may have up to eight hundred milligrams per serving, so read all labels. If you need salt, use Celtic salt in moderation, which is a natural sun-dried sea salt.

Pregnancy makes the body considerably less able to metabolize caffeine. During pregnancy, one cup of coffee is the same metabolically as three cups. Tea, cocoa, chocolate milk, and colas are best avoided during pregnancy. Soft drinks are another hazard. They either contain white sugar or aspartame (Nutrasweet). Aspartame, found in diet sodas, has been shown to harm the brains of young animals. Soft drinks often contain phosphoric acid, which blocks the much-needed absorption of calcium and magnesium. Because magnesium helps with the prostaglandin regulation, anything that depletes magnesium harms the immune system.

In addition to lifestyle changes and the avoidance of anything toxic during pregnancy, I recommend that prospective mothers get a full health work-up to clear any imbalances or diseases like candida and hypoglycemia that may affect the pregnancy. I particularly check for weakened immune, endocrine, and neurotransmitter systems. Hypoglycemia or diabetes may affect the health of the fetus because blood sugar swings can affect the brain development of the fetus, and diabetes can be a complication of pregnancy. It is important to treat these conditions even if they are in a subclinical stage so they do not manifest during pregnancy.

Although the pregnancy diet has some general characteristics like an increase in protein need by thirty grams per day, it is important to determine the optimal diet from a fast or slow oxidizer or parasympathetic or sympathetic point of view. I also like mothers to become aware of the flow of their Ayurvedic doshas during pregnancy so they can best work with a changing body. During pregnancy there is a definite increase in kapha. It is important to individualize one's diet and life tyle to compensate for this increase of kapha.

In our underregulated industrial age there is much environmental toxicity. Heavy metals and chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides need to be removed from the system. This can be done in a variety of ways. Some people may need specific chelating agents. I usually recommend attending one or two of my spiritual fasting retreats, as fasting is one of the most powerful ways to detoxify the system. Some people would benefit from the Ayurvedic panchakarma rejuvenation program to rebalance and detoxify their systems. Others need bowel cleansing programs. Some need all of these to bring their bodies into health and balance. During the pregnancy I try to take women off all therapeutic herbs or diets and put them on an optimum pregnancy diet with supporting food concentrates and a minimum of supporting supplements.

This may seem like a lot of preparation, but when we look at the statistics it is well worth it. For example, in 1978 there were more than four hundred thousand miscarriages and fifteen million American children with birth defects. These birth defect rates continue to increase. Today one child out of ten has some sort of birth defect, and 126,000 children are born each year with severe mental r.e.t.a.r.dation. There are more than one million children with hyperactivity and ten million emotionally disturbed children. In the mid-1990s two hundred thousand children were on Prozac for depression. Not all of this can be prevented, but a great deal of this needless physical and mental suffering can be alleviated with proper mental, emotional, and physical preparation for pregnancy.

Optimal Diet for Pregnancy.

AS I MOVE INTO A DISCUSSION of the optimal diet for pregnancy, I want to remind the reader that from the conscious eating perspective there is no one optimal diet for everyone. The secret to a successful vegetarian, vegan, or live-food diet is understanding your dominant dietary type and Ayurvedic dosha. This applies to everyone at any time and not just during pregnancy.

One additional point is that people often confuse a therapeutic diet with a building or long-term healthy optimal diet. Therapeutic diets such as only fruits for cleansing, less than 10% fat diet for heart disease, or prolonged juice fasting have specific roles and specific effects. For some who stay on them for the long term or for pregnancy, they may actually create deficiencies. Therapeutic diets aim to cure disease and restore health. They are not necessarily the best diets for long-term use or for pregnancy.

Keeping these ideas in mind, I want to state strongly that vegetarian, vegan, or live-food women can continue their basic diets during pregnancy and have very healthy if not healthier babies than if they decided to add red meat, chicken, or fish. There are many reasons for this, such as significant pesticide and radioactive contamination, bacterial, viral, and parasite contamination, and heavy-metal toxicity in the flesh-food diet, all of which I discuss in other chapters in this book. A diet free of flesh foods has produced healthy and strong people for centuries in cultures around the world. A study from The Farm, an intentional community in Tennessee, reported on eight hundred vegan pregnancies. It showed that all had normal pregnancies and bore full-term, normal-weight infants. A healthy pregnancy and infant can be achieved easily even with our modern industrialized and polluted planet. It does require some conscious effort and thoughtfulness.

The first step is to understand and master the basic principles of healthy nutrition and to learn the most important foods for every woman to eat during pregnancy. Depending on one's const.i.tution, the ratios of these foods will vary, but they will still be your main foundation.

During pregnancy there needs to be an increased protein intake by at least thirty grams, to approximately sixty to seventy-five grams per day depending on your const.i.tutional type. A fast oxidizer or parasympathetic type will need to be higher in protein, and a slow oxidizer or sympathetic type will do better on the lesser amount of protein. For the general health of the mother and the fetus, and specifically for the optimum development of the immune system, endocrine system, central nervous system, and brain of the fetus, there needs to be a significant intake of the following: essential fatty acids (EFAs), calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, iodine, the full range of the vitamin B complex (especially B6, B12, and folic acid), vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E. All of these can be obtained from the following basic vegetarian foods, food concentrates, and food-grown supplements. Food-grown supplements are organic supplements still in their organic matrix and which are extracted from foods.

The first part of this general approach is to eat whole, organic, natural foods, and primarily living foods. I expand on this in Chapter 13, "General Guidelines for a Healthy Diet." As our environment becomes more polluted and the soils more depleted of nutrients, going 100% organic, if possible, is the best thing one can do for oneself, a developing fetus, and the environment. Pesticides, herbicides, and other forms of pollution interfere with the metabolic pathways of many nutrients and thus indirectly interfere with the development of the immune, endocrine, and neurological systems. Eating as many of our foods in their live (or biogenic) form or raw form preserves 70 to 80% more vitamins and minerals, 50% more bioactive protein, and up to 96% more bioavailable vitamin B12. I rarely see live-food mothers or children who are deficient in vitamin B12, but it is not an uncommon occurrence in mothers who follow a strict macrobiotic diet in which all the foods are cooked.

Grains, nuts, and seeds are the most potent health-building foods of all. Eaten raw or sprouted if possible (some grains need to be cooked), they contain all the essential nutrients for human growth, sustenance, and ongoing optimal health. These foods contain the germ power of the plants. They are the reproductive power and energy that ensures the perpetuation of the species. Particularly when eaten in their live form, they release this regenerative and reproductive growth power and energy into us. Sprouting the seeds, nuts, and grains activates them and enhances their general nutritive content and specifically the vitamin content. The seeds, nuts, and grains contain high-quality protein. Buckwheat, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and almonds are complete proteins.

Nuts, seeds, and grains are the best natural sources of unsaturated fatty acids and lecithin. They have a high vitamin and mineral content, especially vitamin E and the B-complex vitamins. Vitamin E is important for general endocrine development and hormonal building for the fetus and is specific for healthy pituitary gland development. Vitamin E increases fertility for men and women and helps to prevent miscarriages and stillbirths. The B-complex vitamins help protect against stress and are important as metabolic intermediates in the brain and central nervous system. Nuts, seeds, and grains are high sources of magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, molybdenum, selenium, chromium, fluorine, silicon, pota.s.sium, and phosphorus. All of these minerals are needed during pregnancy. Paciferins, which have an antibiotic-like resistance to disease factor, boost the immune system. Grains, nuts, and seeds provide organic natural fiber and roughage, which helps protect the pregnant mother from constipation, a common problem during pregnancy.

The best seeds to use are flax, sunflower, chia, sesame, and pumpkin. Flaxseeds are excellent and the highest vegetarian source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, important for the immune system, nervous system, and brain development. I recommend one to two tablespoons daily of the uncooked and unheated oil or three to six tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseeds. Flax is a highly mucilaginous food and so it is excellent for keeping the bowels moving during pregnancy. However, depending on your bowel sensitivity, too much ground flaxseed can cause loose stools.

Almonds are the best nuts to use in the diet because they are the most resistant to rancidity. Hazelnuts (filberts) are also a high-quality nut for pregnancy. According to Paavo Airola in Every Woman's Book, buckwheat and millet are the most beneficial grains for pregnancy. Buckwheat is a complete protein and is high in magnesium, manganese, and zinc. As explained in Chapter 3, "A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Personalizing Your Diet: Linking Food Ratios to Physiological Types," in the section "Blood Type Approach," wheat is a lectin food and also a panhemagglutinin. It reacts to form antibody-antigen complexes with all the blood types. It seems to cause allergy reactions in general, especially for many women who are blood type O.

Vegetables are the next most important food for pregnancy. The leafy green vegetables are complete proteins as well as excellent sources of minerals, enzymes, and vitamins. They are high in calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C, and the B-complex vitamins. They also contain small amounts of the omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids. These leafy greens include alfalfa sprouts, green beans, broccoli, bokchoy, Brussels sprouts, vegetables in the cabbage family, collards, cuc.u.mbers, kale, leeks, mustard greens, peppers, romaine lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnip greens. Yellow vegetables are high in the fat-soluble vitamins A and E. These yellow vegetables include carrots, corn, pumpkin, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, and acorn, b.u.t.ternut, Hubbard, spaghetti, and summer squashes.

Fruits are an important food group for pregnancy, providing a good source of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and biological water. Raisins and apricots are high sources of iron. Citrus is high in vitamin C, and melons are high in vitamin A. Fruits have an important role in cleansing as well.

Pregnancy Superfoods.

THERE ARE CERTAIN SUPERFOODS that add significant benefits to the pre- pregnancy, prenatal, and lactation nutrition program. One of the most important of these is brewer's yeast. It is 40-50% protein and is particularly high for a vegetarian food in RNA and DNA. It is one of the best food sources of the total B-complex in the most natural form. It is known as one of the best foods to stimulate breast milk production. It contains high amounts of minerals such as selenium, zinc, iron, and chromium-all needed during pregnancy and nursing. It also contains Glucose Tolerance Factor, which is important for proper sugar metabolism.

Some people have difficulty digesting yeast or are allergic to it because of cross-reaction with candida. It is worth trying and observing how you do. The best time to eat yeast to maximize a.s.similation is to take one or two tablespoons one hour before meals on an empty stomach. In general, if the meal is raw, it is best to eat protein first at a meal so the hydrochloric acid can be stimulated. If eating a cooked protein, it is better to eat it either with or after the raw part of the meal.

There are some excellent nutritional yeasts available. The brand I suggest most often to people is Lewis Brewer's Yeast. Because yeast is high in phosphorus, it is best to take some calcium with it. I do not recommend baker's yeast or torula yeast.

Chlorella is a powerful high-protein algae. It is about 65% a.s.similable protein. There are five grams of protein in one teaspoon or fifteen grams in one tablespoon. Two or three heaping tablespoons can provide the estimated thirty grams of extra protein needed per day for pregnancy. This algae is very high in Chlorella Growth Factor, which is a powerful anabolic energy that supports the growth of the fetus. It contains carotenoids, high amounts of magnesium, and the super detoxifier known as chlorophyll. It also contains approximately two to six times more chlorophyll than spirulina.

Most of the chlorellas are considerably more a.s.similable today than when this food product first came on the market, because most of the companies have figured out how to break the cell walls in a way that does not destroy the nutrients and which maximizes a.s.similation. Chlorella is the best algae for pulling heavy metals out of the system, particularly mercury, lead, cadmium, uranium, and a.r.s.enic. I tend to use chlorella more in the preparing-for-conception stage because it is so specific for heavy metals. It also helps boost the immune system because it contains a compound known as chlorellan, which stimulates the production of interferon and the activity of macrophages (important defense cells in our immune system). Because of this and other reasons, chlorella has a strong anti-cancer activity.

Spirulina is another terrific green supplement similar to chlorella in many ways. It is about 60% protein, but is less dense so that it only contains two grams of protein per teaspoon. It is one of the highest sources of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) on the planet. Only mother's milk is higher. I tend to recommend taking more spirulina during lactation because of the GLA. Spirulina is very high in human-active B12. In Chapter 15, "Do Vegetarians Get Enough Vitamin B12?," I give detailed reasons why vegetarians, vegans, and live-food mothers never have to worry about their B12 if they are taking spirulina, algae from Klamath Lake, and/or sea vegetables as superfood supplements. Chlorella and spirulina support the immune system and are extremely high in vitamins (especially A) and minerals. Depending on how you like the taste and how it feels, they can be taken at different times of the day or together during pregnancy or lactation.

The algae from Klamath Lake is another extraordinary food concentrate for pregnancy. Although it is high in protein, chlorophyll, vitamins, and minerals and enhances the immune system, I value it in pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and lactation for its enhancing effect on brain function. I am not sure what it is that does this, although the algae is high in neurotransmitters, but it carries an energy that specifically enhances the quality of brain function. The algae from Klamath Lake is the only vegetarian food I know that specifically strengthens the hypothalamic and pituitary function. Many people consider the hypothalamus the master gland of the endocrine system. As I discuss in Chapter 15, the algae contains high amounts of human-active B12.

Tachyonized organ-specific nutrients are a new and powerful concept for prenatal nutrition and conscious eating in general. I have developed many of these nutrients in conjunction with David Wagner, inventor of the Tachyonization process and my co-author of the book Tachyon Energy: A New Paradigm in Holistic Healing I first mentioned Tachyon energy in my book Spiritual Nutrition and The Rainbow Diet. Tachyon energy is the first step in the condensation from Zero Point energy, or unlimited cosmic energy, which I explain in Chapter 3. Tachyon energy, which itself is moving faster than the speed of light, is the link in the energetic continuum between the faster-than-the-speed-of-light Zero Point energy and the just-slower-than-the-speed-of-light SOEFs, which are also described in Chapter 3. The SOEFs are the energetic template for our whole body-each organ, gland, and every cell. If the SOEFs are low in energy from the weak germ plasm of the parents, the fetal organs and glands may not be too strong. In the Pottenger Cat Study, we can say that the kittens of nutritionally deficient mothers had generally weakened SOEFs and specifically weakened adrenal, thyroid, immune system, and bone which could not be brought back to normal even with specific supplements.

The Tachyon energy contains the essence of all frequencies and information to strengthen each individual SOEF. Tachyon moves faster than the speed of light where frequencies begin. It energizes the SOEFs of the total system and of each organ, gland, and cell. In doing so it strengthens the quality of health of these organs, glands, and cells, and the organism as a whole. The Tachyon energy, by energizing the SOEFs, brings coherency to the fields and therefore general health to the whole body, down to the cellular level. An important aspect of the Tachyon energy is that it is not a frequency like a magnet, for example. Because of this one cannot overdose. When the SOEFs get their optimal energetic need, then they continue to convert enough Tachyon energy to maintain an optimal energetic balance of the SOEFs.

In exploring how to work with the Tachyon energy, we hit upon the idea of Tachyonizing certain herbs, algaes, minerals, and vitamins known to be absorbed in high concentrations by particular organs and glands as a way to turn these organs and glands into antennas for attracting the Tachyon energy. This approach is a way to energetically rebuild the damaged SOEFs of these structures and therefore a way to strengthen these organs. The Tachyonization process restructures the particular herbs, algaes, minerals, and vitamins at the submolecular level. Once a material is Tachyonized in a fourteen-day process, every molecule draws a rich flow of the Tachyon energy to it. When these Tachyonized nutrients are ingested, they move to their specific target organs and glands and are absorbed at the molecular level. These specific targets both receive the Tachyon energy the nutrients are carrying and become transformed into Tachyon antennas. As antennas they continue to draw the Tachyon energy into them and thus strengthen their SOEFs and their whole function.

We have found that when a nutrient is Tachyonized, only about half the normal nutrient dosage is needed to be effective. The antenna effect is not permanent because we are always building new cells, so one needs to keep the Tachyon supplementation going on a regular basis to maintain the Tachyon antenna effect. The Tachyon nutrients I recommend for pregnancy are the Tachyonized Klamath Lake algae to build and maintain a strong hypothalamic and pituitary function; Tachyonized DHA, the main long-chain omega-3 fatty acid for brain development; Tachyonized kelp to build and maintain the thyroid; Tachyonized vitamin C to build and maintain the connective tissue and the adrenals, which seem to be weak in a great many people; Tachyonized silica to strengthen the bone and all connective tissues; Tachyonized vitamin A and E creams to help reduce stretch marks; and Tachyonized water to strengthen each cell and the hematological system. These recommended Tachyonized organ-specific nutrients are excellent and safe for the mother as well as the fetus. There are many other Tachyon organ-specific nutrients available as herbs which I don't like to give during pregnancy but are excellent for children and nonpregnant adults. These Tachyon nutrients can be obtained from the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona, or other places where Tachyon products are sold.

Bee pollen is another superfood. It is the collective s.e.m.e.n or germinating essence of the plant kingdom. It is the procreative life force of the plant world and the ultimate biogenic food. It is high in almost all the vitamins and minerals needed for pregnancy. It contains at least 25% protein and is high in RNA and DNA. I discuss it more in depth in Chapter 29. Bee pollen carries the germ force energy and supports the power of the germ plasm in the parents and the generative force of the fetus. One to three tablespoons of bee pollen per day will provide a tremendous boost to one's health. The ratio of protein to carbohydrates in bee pollen makes it a good food for slow oxidizers or sympathetic-dominant types when taken with other carbohydrates. Taking bee pollen with other protein is also excellent for fast oxidizers because it has such a high protein-per-gram ratio. It is also high in adenosine, which helps fast oxidizers' metabolism.

Sea vegetables in general and kelp in particular are other miracle foods from which pregnant mothers and nursing mothers can greatly benefit. Kelp is very high in iodine, which is supportive for the thyroid, which is low in many people (not unlike the deficient cats in the Pottenger Cat Study). Pregnant women have a greater-than-normal excretion of iodine in the urine. A low thyroid gland can weaken and unbalance the rest of the endocrine and hormone system. A deficiency of iodine and thyroid function can lead to a build-up of estrogen in the system. Iodine is essential for the development of the thyroid of the fetus. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy may cause a mentally r.e.t.a.r.ded baby.

Kelp also helps protect from radioactive fallout. Like the other sea vegetables, it is high in B12. Please see the charts in Chapter 15. Eating sea vegetables on a daily basis is a good idea. One-half teaspoon of kelp granules or two to three kelp tablets per day is all that is needed.

Key Nutritional Factors for a Healthy Pregnancy.

THERE ARE SEVERAL KEY NUTRITIONAL FACTORS about which I want to make a particular note. These include the essential fatty acids, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, chromium, B-com-plex and especially B6, B12, and folic acid, and vitamins A, C, and E.

The essential fatty acids (EFAs) are extremely important for vegetarian, vegan, and live-food mothers. They are critical for proper brain and nervous system development, and they also supply the raw materials to make the prostaglandins, which are needed for the development and proper functioning of the immune system. During lactation, babies do not have the enzymes to make the much-needed GLA for prostaglandin production and the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) necessary for brain and nervous tissue development. There also needs to be a balance among the omega-6 EFAs and the omega-3 fatty acids because they compete for the same enzyme systems. The most agreed-upon ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is approximately four to one. However, Michael Schmidt, author of Smart Fats, pointed out to me in a personal communication that a key factor in this ratio is the actual content of the specific fatty acids in the omega-6 and omega-3 intake. Today the balance is significantly off with omega-6 to omega-3 ratios of thirty to one and even as much as forty-five to one in mother's milk. In The Omega-3 Phenomenon, Dr. Rubin estimates that there has been an 80% drop in the intake of omega-3 fatty acids in the popular American diet. There is a variety of reasons for this, including increased sugar intake (which interferes with the EFA synthesis), a 2500% increase in trans fatty acid intake (which interferes with fatty acid synthesis), increased hydrogenation of oils, and increased consumption of omega-3-deficient oils such as corn, sunflower, olive, safflower, and sesame.

The solution is to increase our intake of omega-3 EFAs. The best source of omega-3 EFAs is flaxseeds or flaxseed oil. The optimal intake for a pregnant woman is one to two tablespoons of oil per day or three to six tablespoons of the ground-up flaxseed. Since the oil can turn rancid quickly, I suggest you grind up only enough seeds for the day. An alternative is hemp oil, but since the seeds have to be cooked before entering this country, their nutritional value is compromised. Hemp does not contain as much of the omega-3 alpha-linoleic acid (ALA) as flaxseed oil. Flaxseed oil has 58% and hemp oil has 25% ALA. Pumpkin seeds have 1-5%, chia has 30%, and walnuts have 5% ALA. These, however, have marginal amounts of the most critical EFA needed for brain development in the fetus and maintenance during childhood and into adulthood-DHA. But with optimal doses of flaxseed oil and optimal health, a certain amount of ALA is converted into DHA. The ratio is one hundred molecules of ALA to make one molecule of DHA.

The low amount of DHA in normal vegetarian foods is a significant concern. DHA is the major long-chain omega-3 fatty acid found in the brain. It is the primary building block of the gray matter of the brain and the retina of the eye. It is concentrated in parts of the brain that require a high degree of electrical activity. One such area is the synaptosomes, which are the junctions where the nerves communicate with one another, and the receptor sites in the synaptosome to which the neurotransmitters attach when impulses cross from one nerve cell to another. Also high in DHA concentration are the photoreceptors of the retina, which receive light stimulation. A third area is the mitochondria, where the ATP is created which generates biochemical energy for the brain, nervous system, and every energetic process in the body. The fourth major area of DHA concentration is the cerebral cortex, which is the outer layer of the brain connected to our consciousness and thinking abilities. DHA is a critical building block of the fetal brain and during infancy, and it is important for optimal brain function our whole life, as mentioned above. Lower DHA in adulthood is a.s.sociated with an increased incidence of senility and decreased cognitive ability. Low levels are linked with insufficient brain and vision development in infants, hyper-activity, attention deficit disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and the worsening of schizophrenia. Research shows that children who receive adequate amounts of DHA have higher IQs and better visual acuity than children who do not receive adequate amounts.

Another important brain fat for infants is arachidonic acid (AA). It is the princ.i.p.al long-chain fatty acid of the omega-6 family found in the brain. It is present, like DHA, in the breast milk to continue to promote brain development. By the age of one year a child can make its own AA (as with DHA). An excess of this in the brain or anywhere in the body creates a tendency to inflammation. AA is balanced by the omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA.

One other EFA important for brain function is gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). It is converted into prostaglandin-1 (PGE-1), a hormone-like substance that enhances certain brain functions and has been shown to enhance mood and to diminish depression. It also seems to be helpful for treating attention deficit disorders and hyperactivity It helps some women with premenstrual syndrome. The priming of PGE-1 with increased GLA helps balance the inflammatory substances a.s.sociated with excess AA. An imbalance in the EFAs can cause a variety of emotional disorders and nervous system irritability. In my work I use these substances most often in the treatment of depression and the rebalancing and healing of the addictive brain.

Researchers have found that during pregnancy a drop occurs in the AA and DHA levels of the mother. Most likely they are being pulled away for the brain development of the fetus. In one study there was a significant imbalance of the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio by the third trimester in all cases. The omega-3 ALA and DHA were low, and the omega-6 fatty acids were high. In one study, Dr. Holman of the University of Minnesota found that during pregnancy the omega-3 fatty acids fell significantly and the drop persisted at least six weeks after delivery, when he stopped the study. DHA was the most depleted fatty acid. It averaged 35% of the pre-pregnancy levels. ALA and DHA were even lower after delivery. Another study done by Dr. Monique Al found that the DHA levels were depleted during pregnancy and continued to drop with each pregnancy.

Since a lowered DHA seems to be a.s.sociated with depression, it may be linked with postpartum depression and the high rates of depression in women as compared with men. It is interesting to note that the incidence of postpartum depression increases with each birth and the levels of DHA decrease with each birth. I feel that DHA supplementation for postpartum exhaustion and depression is an important part of prevention and treatment.

a.s.sociated with postpartum depression observations is the finding of Dr. Fugen Nezirogu and a.s.sociates, who observed that in five hundred cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder, many linked the onset of their problem with pregnancy. In another of their studies, they found that 69% of postpartum women reported that their obsessive-compulsive disorder began with or became worse with some aspect of their pregnancy. It is interesting to explore this link between DHA deficiency and probably other EFA deficiencies from pregnancy and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Again, the question is one of balance. There needs to be an effort to balance the AA, GLA, ALA, and DHA, but generally speaking, DHA and GLA supplementation is an important consideration for these syndromes.

At birth, a baby's brain contains as many cells as the Milky Way does stars-approximately one hundred billion. By the end of the first year the brain nearly triples in size. It is during the first year that there is a major developmental process for vision, feelings, movement, and language. It is a critical time for the formation of physical, mental, and emotional intelligence as well as the development of the nervous system. During this time DHA is needed in high amounts. Since the infant cannot make DHA efficiently, breast milk is the key source of DHA and the other EFAs such as GLA, ALA, and AA. Studies have shown that breast-fed infants, as compared to formula-fed infants, develop better visual acuity and higher IQ. Until 1997, DHA was not added to formula milk.

It is obvious that the lactating mother needs a high level of DHA in her system. This is of concern because vegans and vegetarians have been shown to have a lower level of DHA in their breast milk, and their babies show a lower level of DHA. In one study, Australian and British babies of omnivores had approximately 6% DHA in their red blood cells. American omnivores had 3%. British infants fed from vegetarian mothers had 2%. Research by Agren published in 1995 in Lipids showed that long-term vegetarians had lower levels of DHA than omnivores. Research by Reddy, Saunders, and Tab showed there was less DHA in infants of vegetarian mothers. In general, the data show that vegetarian mothers before, during, and after pregnancy are lower than nonvegetarians in DHA and so are their babies.

Meat-eaters in the US also seem to be lower in DHA than people in other countries because their diets are low in cold-water fish such as sardines, salmon, and tuna. These are a main source of dietary DHA for non-vegetarians. In countries like Malaysia, where the people eat a lot of cold-water fish, the percentage of DHA in the breast milk content is three times higher than it is in the US omnivores and approximately four times higher than the average vegan. Because these fish oils are high in EPA, a fatty acid that acts to slow blood clotting time, I do not recommend fish oils for pregnant women.

As with vitamin B12, which is lower in vegetarians and vegans than in omnivores, but not significant enough to cause pathological B12 deficiency problems, the question to be asked is how low is low DHA? Is there any harm being done? My feeling in seeing so many beautiful vegan and vegetarian children is probably not. A "low" DHA may be the same as a "low" B12, but still within the nonpathological range we need for normal neurological and brain development of the fetus and infant. There is not enough research, however, to fully answer this question. Because it is better to err on the side of safety, my next step is to look at the ways vegetarians, vegans, and live-food mothers and infants can increase the amount of DHA in their breast milk and brains. Also included are recommendations for increasing ALA and GLA.

The most obvious way is to take in high amounts of flaxseed or flaxseed oil, which is high in ALA. This ALA to some extent converts to DHA. It appears, however, that the amount of this conversion is not necessarily enough to supply sufficient DHA for the increased needs of pregnant or nursing mothers. Nevertheless, it is important for all vegans, vegetarians, and live-food people to know how to maximize this ALA-to-DHA conversion process (which becomes less efficient with age). The enzymatic conversion of ALA to DHA is optimized by adequate amounts of B3, B6, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, biotin, and E. For this reason, during pregnancy and lactation it is good to increase the vitamin B6 consumption to approximately thirty to fifty milligrams per day. B6 in amounts greater than two hundred milligrams can suppress lactation. A good range for vitamin B3 is thirty to fifty milligrams. The vitamin C need is at least two thousand milligrams per day. The magnesium need is around four hundred milligrams per day and zinc need is between fifteen and twenty milligrams. About four hundred units of the d-Alpha-tocopherol of vitamin E is needed, and ten thousand units of vitamin A. If these amounts can be achieved by natural whole foods and food concentrates, this is the optimum way to go.

Another way to optimize DHA production is to avoid habits or medical conditions that block the process. This includes any intake of alcohol, a diet high in saturated fats and trans fatty acids, stress, diabetes, high dietary cholesterol intake, high blood cholesterol, and intake of white sugar. Other conditions that inhibit the conversion include: elevated blood glucose, excess insulin, and use of corticosteroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin. Smoking, starvation, and obesity also block the ALA-to-DHA conversion.

Alcohol is one of the main offenders of all brain function. It blocks the enzymes needed to form DHA and appears to dissolve fatty acids within the brain's neuron membranes. Some research suggests that alcohol causes a decrease in the DHA of the cellular membranes of the brain. This is another explanation of how the fetal alcohol syndrome takes place. DHA is a part of my program for the healing of the nervous system of chronic alcoholics in recovery. It is clear that the use of any alcohol during pregnancy is destructive to the fetus.

An excess of insulin will enhance the conversion of GLA to AA and cause an imbalance of the AA-to-DHA ratio. It may even diminish by compet.i.tive inhibition some of the enzymes and cofactors needed to make DHA.

Another compet.i.tive inhibitor of the enzymes needed to create DHA are trans fatty acids, which have no nutritional value and are actually detrimental to cell membrane function in general and brain cell membranes in specific. I discuss trans fatty acids in Chapter 21. They are a problem because they interfere with the metabolism of both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. One study found that in the breast milk of approximately two hundred mothers, the amount of trans fatty acids was 20% of the total breast milk fat. Another scientist found that as the trans fatty acids increased in the breast milk, the amount of ALA-the precursor of DHA-went down. The best way to prevent the intake of trans fatty acids and to eliminate them from our cellular metabolism is to restrict one's intake of foods that are high in them and to take optimal levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Women and men (sperm requires long-chain EFAs for optimal function) preparing for conception should avoid the sources of trans fatty acids for as long as possible. The main source of trans fatty acids is our modern dietary junk foods: French fries, candy potato chips, corn chips, cookies, cake, mayonnaise, shortening, deep-fried foods, tortilla chips, doughnuts, margarine, and most salad dressings that are not olive oil-based. All partially hydrogenated soybean, sunflower, safflower, or corn oils are sources of trans fatty acids. If one is eating only organic, whole, natural foods, avoiding these trans fatty acid sources will not be much of a problem.

Vegetarian sources of DHA include sea vegetables such as nori, hijiki, and kombu. One source of vegetarian DHA has been extracted from a golden micro algae of the coni species that supplies enough DHA on a daily basis to provide a safety margin for pregnancy and minimize a DHA depletion in the mother. It is sold as Neuromins in one or two hundred-milligram doses of DHA. There is also Tachyonized DHA, which is a most potent form. Both are available at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center. For the first pregnancy, I suggest priming your system as early as one year before conception with one hundred milligrams per day and continuing until six months after breast feeding is completed. Given all the data and the importance of DHA for brain development, I do not think we can get enough from the sea vegetables or convert enough of the ALA in flaxseeds to DHA to maintain an optimal supply for the developing fetus and the needs of the mother. If as vegans, vegetarians, and live-food people we are on the minimum side of healthy, sufficient DHA levels, why operate without a margin of safety at the risk of the mental and physical health of our newborn children, pregnant mothers, young people, and adults at every stage of development? Without such a margin of safety, any sort of stress, physical or emotional, could cause enough of a depletion to drop us into a pathological zone in terms of DHA levels. For example, this seems to be what happens to some mothers who never feel at optimal health and energy levels since their child-bearing years began.

Several minerals are important for pregnant women to more fully understand. Adequate calcium intake contributes to proper development of bones, teeth, muscles, and blood of both the mother and fetus. High sources of calcium foods are leafy greens like broccoli, collard greens, kale, turnips, romaine lettuce, carrots, legumes, sesame seed b.u.t.ters, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, filberts, and organic tortillas made with lime. According to Dr. Michael Klaper, in his book Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet, three good meals a day of these foods will supply the thousand milligrams of calcium needed daily by pregnant women. Twelve hundred milligrams of calcium is recommended by the USRDA. To meet this requirement one might want to take five hundred milligrams of calcium citrate, calcium gluconate, or a food-concentrated calcium fed to yeast and then harvested. Avoid bone meal, dolomite, or oyster sh.e.l.l calcium because they may be contaminated with heavy metals and some are animal products. The cell salt Calcarea Phos enhances calcium absorption. The time when calcium is best absorbed in the body is in the evening, and this keeps calcium from blocking the absorption of other minerals. If calcium causes constipation, add some magnesium at about 50% of the calcium amount, making a two-to-one ratio of calcium to magnesium.