Oranges have been called a “perfect food”

Oranges have been called a “perfect food” and contain an amazing array of healing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. They are high in vitamin C, vitamin A, B-complex vitamins, folate, beta carotene, lutein, and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium.

Oranges have been known to help prevent cancer, lower high blood pressure, fight off viral infections, relieve constipation, reduce seasonal affective disorder, keep bones and teeth strong, prevent kidney stones and macular degeneration. Oranges are rich in lime and alkaline salts that help to counteract and prevent acidosis in the body. They are also excellent for the digestive tract and help to remove toxic debris from the colon through enhanced peristaltic action.

Oranges contain a significant amount of glutathione which is critical for healthy eye and lung function. Oranges are very good for respiratory problems such as asthma or bronchitis and cardiovascular issues such as hypertension and COPD. Oranges act as an internal antiseptic to the body and have the ability to purify and strengthen all the organs in the body.

Oranges contain anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties which are particularly beneficial for those suffering with a cold or flu or an auto-immune disorder such as shingles, arthritis, IBS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and raynaud’s disease. Fresh squeezed orange juice is a predigested food and allows for immediate absorption of all it’s abundant healing properties.

However, be aware that orange juice will lose the majority of its vitamin C content within 30 minutes of being squeezed, so for optimum results drink immediately. Whole oranges, peeled or cut in slices, are the best option as the fiber and pith is where so many of the phytonutrients and healing properties are contained.

Oranges are an excellent weight loss food due to their high pectin content which also helps to reduce blood cholesterol. Oranges are an ideal “fast food”, easy to transport, delicious to eat, and provide a steady form of energy throughout the day.

Over 80% of us will experience

Over 80% of us will experience adrenal fatigue multiple times over our lives. It’s an epidemic that most people have no idea exists. The few that are aware don’t fully understand its root cause or how to heal from it. This isn’t surprising given that medical science and research are still in the dark about this prevalent condition. It will be decades before science begins to reflect the information I am sharing with you today about how the adrenals function. Even then, science will only know a part of the picture.
Do You Have Adrenal Fatigue?
If your adrenals are functioning erratically, some of the symptoms you might experience include weakness, lack of energy, trouble concentrating, becoming easily confused, forgetfulness, trouble completing basic tasks you once found easy, hoarse voice, poor digestion, constipation, depression, insomnia, not feeling rested after waking from sleep, and relying on naps to get through the day. Some other common signs of adrenal fatigue include “crashing” mid-morning or mid-afternoon, feeling tired all day but more energetic in the evening, and feeling exhausted at night but not being able to fall asleep. Medical communities are unaware that postpartum fatigue and depression are often the result of adrenal fatigue from the process of childbirth. Given that 80% of us will experience adrenal fatigue, if you have any of these symptoms it could be affecting you too.
Fatigued adrenals can also affect other glands and organs including the pancreas, heart, liver, brain, and central nervous system. However, if you’re experiencing more severe forms of adrenal fatigue symptoms you could have neurological fatigue, which is caused by the swelling of the central nervous system as a result of such viruses as Epstein-Barr and shingles. I discuss these viruses and how they are unknowingly responsible for many mystery diseases, conditions, and symptoms in my books Medical Medium and Life-Changing Foods. I also share the difference between adrenal and neurological fatigue in my Healing From Adrenal Fatigue radio show.
The Cause of Adrenal Fatigue
The adrenal glands are two little lumps of tissue in your endocrine system located directly above your kidneys. It is commonly known that the adrenal glands are in charge of producing hormones essential for your health, such as adrenaline and cortisol. But it is not yet known that the adrenals produce most of the female reproductive hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. This means that adrenal health has a direct impact on a woman’s libido and ability to conceive.
It’s commonly believed that the adrenals stop producing enough hormones when they are fatigued. This is a misconception. In reality, the function of the adrenals varies with emotional stress, environmental factors, and existing health issues in the body. Because of this variability, the adrenals can swing between producing too much or too little hormone. It’s this fluctuating behavior that characterizes genuine adrenal fatigue.
Medical communities also believe that both adrenal glands fatigue at the same rate. This isn’t true. One gland is always weaker, stronger or more burdened than the other, which prolongs the healing process. In fact, each adrenal gland has its own intelligence and is responsible for producing hormone blends specific to the situations it manages. For example, the left adrenal is primarily responsible for producing the hormones needed when someone has a stomach flu or food poisoning. The right adrenal is primarily responsible for producing the hormones needed when someone is feeling obsessed with a hobby or interest in their life. For some situations, like handling a crisis or falling in love, both adrenals produce the necessary hormones. This essential information has not yet been discovered, nor is it being considered or researched, and it’s impacting our ability to heal.
The Stress Response
The innate intelligence of our bodies means that the adrenals know to produce higher amounts of critical hormones like adrenaline when we are under stress or having highly charged emotional experiences. These hormones give us the ability to get through the challenges we face as a short-lived survival mechanism. However, if the stress is sustained for a longer period than we were designed to cope with, the adrenal glands will eventually become damaged and start behaving erratically. Unfortunately, in this modern era there are greater demands on us than ever before in history. Extended periods of stress are the norm rather than the exception, and we are paying for it with our health.
It’s not just the adrenal glands that are fatigued by frequent or constant stress. The adrenaline that pours out from the adrenal glands, while necessary for survival, is highly acidic and corrosive in its nature and in many ways resembles battery acid running through your body. An occasional release of the hormone is no problem for the body to handle when it’s truly in a fight or flight situation, but when adrenaline is repeatedly flooding the system due to frequent or continued stress, it quickly becomes damaging to your brain, pancreas, liver, and other organs and tissues.
The Many Blends Of Adrenaline
Medical science and research currently believe there is only one type of adrenaline produced by the adrenals, but this isn’t true. It’s not yet known that there are actually 56 different blends of adrenaline that are produced and change in response to different everyday emotions and situations, including dreaming, showering, exercising, falling in love, having a car accident, arguing, debating, singing, and even listening.
Consider the fuel blends required for different vehicles to operate. A motorcycle requires a specific blend of fuel and air for its engine, which is different than the fuel blend needed to run a mini, 4W all-terrain vehicle, bus, or plane. The amount of fuel needed also varies for each purpose. When a car is idling it requires a different amount of fuel than when you’re stepping on the gas to power up a steep hill. The same is true for the body. It requires different types and amounts of adrenaline for the activities it’s performing and challenges it’s facing. Our adrenals have the wisdom to release any of the 56 hormone blends to power us through our immediate needs.
The Adrenication Epidemic
We’re all familiar with the potentially devastating effects of drug and alcohol addiction, but no one knows that the original addiction we faced as humankind was to adrenaline itself. Medical science and research are not yet aware that adrenaline is as addictive as a Schedule 1 drug. While it was quite rare hundreds and thousands of years ago, in the fast-paced, high-stress modern era we live in today, 50% of us are now addicted to the adrenaline hormone. It’s our number one drug of choice.
Just like any addiction, the more we act on it, the more numb to it we become. Over time, we require more of the drug to satisfy the addiction. This doesn't just apply to the people who love adrenaline sports like rock climbing, bungee jumping, or base jumping. It’s also true for millions of us who are juggling the demands of a job, children, partner, running the household, and caring for parents, other family members, and friends. To keep up with the breakneck speed of life, many of us are in an almost permanent state of fight or flight, and corrosive adrenaline is constantly pouring through our bodies.
Without knowing it, a mother can become addicted to the rush of adrenaline that’s allowing her to keep up with her exhausting schedule, and continue to pull on this precious resource over and over again. The busy executive can come to rely on adrenaline to fuel them through day after day of early meetings, skipping lunches, and late nights of work. However, each time the adrenaline high that carries us through an activity passes, there is always an inevitable low, along with the damage the adrenaline leaves in its wake. With our to-do lists constantly refilling, it’s easy to choose to keep engaging in the behavior that will bring the next adrenaline high so we can carry on at the same pace. Or when we do try to relax, the letdown of the adrenaline high may lead us keeping ourselves overly busy so we are still releasing adrenaline and being stimulated. We can begin to forget what a healthy level of adrenaline feels like and get so used to the sensation of the hormone coursing through our veins that we become addicted to it. I call this self-medication ‘adrenication’.
Recovering From Adrenal Fatigue
Thankfully, it is possible to heal from adrenal fatigue and protect ourselves from having to rely on adrenaline once we have the right information. But because medical science and research don’t have a full understanding yet of the true causes of adrenal fatigue and the nature of adrenaline, people haven’t been getting the answers or help they need. Let’s take a look at the most important steps for improving adrenal health.
The Grazing Technique
There are some trends today that suggest we shouldn’t snack or that skipping meals is helpful for our health. These misconceptions result in even more stress being placed on the adrenals. When we go more than one and a half to two hours without eating, our blood sugar will drop and our adrenals will be forced to pump out adrenaline and cortisol to fill in for the lack of sugar in the bloodstream. With the corrosive nature of adrenaline and cortisol’s negative effects, the adrenal glands can soon become strained, resulting in fatigue, weight gain, sluggish liver, and other conditions and diseases. The best eating strategy we can employ for prevention and healing is to graze every one to two hours, depending on the severity of your adrenal fatigue symptoms. If you are bedridden with fatigue, you may need to graze every hour. If you are functional but have symptoms you struggle with, eating every hour and a half to two hours is ideal.
The best foods to graze on include a balance of natural glucose, sodium, and potassium-rich foods. I created a video to share a selection of some simple and easy snacks that are ideal for adrenal fatigue, which you can view here. You can still enjoy your regular meals, but it’s important to not compromise on snacking every one and a half to two hours as well.
Glucose Saturation
Glucose saturation, like grazing, is another key piece of adrenal recovery.. Our bodies run primarily on glucose, along with mineral salts. If we wait more than one and a half to two hours to eat, and we don't have enough glucose reserves in our liver (most people don’t), we set ourselves up for blood sugar crashes resulting in hypoglycemia and the beginning of insulin resistance, plus the adrenaline and cortisol responses I described above. To give ourselves the best safeguard against adrenal fatigue and other conditions and illnesses, we need to ensure we are eating plenty of glucose from fruits and carbohydrate-rich vegetables, along with leafy greens for mineral salts. An unknown secret is to drink 16oz of straight celery juice daily on an empty stomach. This simple juice is the most powerful way to help bring the adrenals back to health, along with grazing on fruit and greens. I share recipes that feature healthy sources of glucose and mineral salts in my book Life-Changing Foods and on my blog here, or enjoy simple snacks such as those in the Adrenal Snacks video.
I discuss adrenal fatigue and the grazing method in both of my books, Medical Medium: Secrets Behind Chronic and Mystery Illness and How to Finally Heal and Life-Changing Foods: Save Yourself and the Ones You Love with the Hidden Healing Powers of Fruits & Vegetables, along with new information on the unknown causes of many illnesses and conditions today and how to heal. You can also learn more in my Medical Medium Radio Show on Healing From Adrenal Fatigue http://bit.ly/2gB0Zar
Hope For Healing
The challenges of life today mean that stress is a very real and often unavoidable part of our lives. In fact, we have more stress and demands on us than ever. But that doesn’t mean we can’t heal adrenal fatigue or other stress-activated symptoms and conditions. We simply need to know the true cause of our symptoms and the correct steps to facilitate healing.
The truth is your body wants to heal. It loves you unconditionally and is working hard for you every day. All you need to do is give it the tools and resources it needs to begin the healing process. The simple tips I have shared here give you a healing toolbox to work with. I recommend also reading my two books Medical Medium and Life-Changing Foods for more in-depth information and guidance on healing adrenal fatigue and hundreds of other health conditions and symptoms.

Lavender is a sedative, diuretic, carminative, antiseptic, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory herb that has been medicinally used for centuries. It is known to help relieve nervous headaches, migraines, anxiety, depression, insomnia, dizziness, bloating, indigestion, flatulence, hypertension, asthma, and reduce symptoms from colds, flu, & fever.

Lavender has wonderful phytochemical and antioxidant properties making it an excellent herb to sprinkle on salads, mix in homemade tea or lemonade, or even add to your baked squash, potato, or rice dishes. Essential oil of lavender has been known to help soothe the skin and relieve pain or discomfort from psoriasis, bee stings, acne, athlete’s foot, sun burns, eczema, poison ivy, and candida outbreaks.
It can even help to prevent scars, stretch marks, and wrinkles. Try adding a few drops to your bath, liquid soap, or moisturizing cream. Essential oil of lavender is also wonderful for aromatherapy uses and can significantly reduce lung and sinus infections and all types of headaches and mental tension. For household use, lavender is a great natural disinfectant and insecticide and can be used safely around pets, children, and the elderly.

Hibiscus tea

Hibiscus tea is made from deep red calyxes of the hibiscus flower that is rich in anthocyanins, fruit acids, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and bioflavonoids. Hibiscus tea is excellent for boosting the immune system and fighting off infections. 

Traditionally, hibiscus tea was regarded by the egyptian pharaohs to be royalty’s most important beverage as it was known to improve health and vitality.
The antioxidants found in hibiscus tea are often compared to those in red wine and have been noted for their positive effects on cardiac health including lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels. These antioxidants also contain powerful anti-cancer properties which have the ability to protect cells and keep them healthy and free from damage.
Hibiscus tea is also known to be beneficial for weight loss, depression, sleep disorders, hypertension, and mood swings. Hibiscus tea also is known to help lower blood pressure, prevent bladder infections, and relieve constipation. Hibiscus has been used for centuries to support liver function and aid in liver disorders such as fatty liver syndrome and jaundice. Hibiscus tea can be consumed either hold or cold. Try adding some raw honey for a delicious and powerful immune strengthening drink.

Basil is an herbal antibiotic

Basil is an herbal antibiotic, antiseptic, carminative, and appetizer that has an special affinity for the stomach. Basil significantly benefits the stomach during digestion and can provide immediate relief from gas, stomach cramps, and nausea. It also contains powerful anti-inflammatory properties and can provide relief for inflamed bowel conditions such as colitis, IBS, crohn’s and celiac disease.

It is also highly antibacterial and antiviral making it effective against bacterial infections, intestinal parasites, colds, flu, mono, shingles, and herpes. Basil is a rich source of magnesium which relaxes muscles and blood vessels and supports cardiovascular health by lowering the risk of irregular heart rhythms and spasms.

The essential oil of basil contains eugenol which works similarly to aspirin and ibuprofen in decreasing the swelling in joints and tissues to provide relief from arthritis and fibromyalgia. Basil’s fungicidal properties also aid in healing wounds, skin rashes, warts, and insect bites. You can purchase creams and salves or crush fresh leaves in a small amount of coconut oil, apply to the skin, and wrap with a fresh bandage daily.

Consider making fresh basil a staple in your diet and regularly add to salads, homemade pesto, guacamole, green smoothies, and even fruits like strawberries and bananas, the health properties are not to be missed.

Brazil nuts

Brazil nuts are crunchy and sweet and are a concentrated source of nutrition and energy. In fact, only 2-4 nuts a day are needed to obtain all their complete nutritional and health benefits. Consider chopping them up and sprinkling over a salad with a squeeze of fresh lemon and fresh herbs or adding a few to a smoothie or trail mix.

Brazil nut oil has been used for thousands of years as a therapeutic remedy for skin problems such as dry cracked skin, calluses, rashes, burns, bruises, eczema, and psoriasis. Brazil nut oil is also often used as a carrier or base oil for aromatherapy and massage therapy applications. Brazil nuts can be found online or at your local health food store.

Sweet & Spicy Mango Salsa

Mangos aren't just exceptionally tasty, they are also have incredible healing properties. They help to alkalinize the whole body by helping to flush out toxic acids and rebuild the alkali reserves in the body. They're also packed with enzymes and are a prebiotic food, meaning they contain compounds that stimulate and feed the good bacteria in the intestines which greatly aids in digestion and assimilation.

Mangoes are an amazing source of vitamins A, C, E, and B-complex as well as health promoting flavonoids such as beta-carotene and alpha-carotene. They're also a powerful anti-cancer food and are specifically known to help prevent lung, breast, colon, prostate, blood, and oral cancers. They are also highly beneficial in the prevention of strokes, heart disease, arthritis, cognitive disorders, respiratory diseases, and kidney disease.

Mangoes contain a significant amount of pyridoxine (B-6) which is vital for the synthesis of serotonin and dopamine in the brain and is essential in maintaining hormonal balance and proper immune function. Mangoes also help prevent insomnia and provide for better sleep. In some countries mangos are eaten right before bed as a natural sleep aid.

Enjoy this recipe anytime of day. It's wonderful eaten on its own, or served with guacamole, hummus, vegetable crudités or a healthy cracker you enjoy. Or scoop into lettuce or cabbage leaves taco-style, or over a salad.

Sweet & Spicy Mango Salsa
Ingredients:
• 2C mango, diced
• 2C tomatoes, diced
• 1C avocado, diced
• 1/2C onion, minced
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4C cilantro leaves, minced
• 1 tbsp jalapeno, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• optional dash of cayenne
• optional sea salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl and mix together until well combined.
2. Enjoy with raw vegetables or Sami's brand millet-flax crackers, or scooped into lettuce leaves.

Serves 1-2

Skullcap (Scutellaria laterifolia) 

Skullcap (Scutellaria laterifolia) is a well respected North American medicinal herb that is an excellent remedy for anxiety, stress, headaches, exhaustion, and depression. It is known as a healing tonic for the central nervous system and can be particularly beneficial in providing relief for nerve pain, nervous tension, muscle cramps, twitches, tics, and spasms.

It is also helpful for Parkinson’s disease, shingles, neuralgia, sciatica, epilepsy, migraines, PMS, and menopause. Skullcap has potent anti-inflammatory properties and can help to stop histamine production which is often the cause of swelling and discomfort in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, chronic sinusitis, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, and fibromyalgia.

Skullcap is known to help lower blood pressure and support the cardiovascular system. It is also a good natural remedy for insomnia as it helps to induce sleep without strongly sedating the body, so that you can still wake up fresh and clear-minded the next morning. Skullcap tea can be made by steeping 2 tsp of dried herb in 1 cup of hot water for at least 15 minutes, strain and sweeten with raw honey if desired.

Please also be aware that there are 2 forms of skullcap; American and Chinese. Skullcap (American), as described here, has entirely different healing properties than the Chinese skullcap, so make sure you are getting the correct type of skullcap when purchasing your herb. Skullcap (American) can be found in tincture, capsule, extract, and tea form online or at your local health food store.

Pumpkin Smoothie Bowl

Today I have a Pumpkin Smoothie Bowl recipe that offers you a wonderful option for anytime of year. It's rich, sweet, creamy, and satisfying. Enjoy this Pumpkin Bowl for breakfast, lunch, a snack, or dessert. You could even have it for a satisfying but light dinner.

A fun way to prepare these bowls for multiple people is to make as many servings of the main smoothie mixture as you need, then offer a selection of toppings for friends and family to create their own personalized flavor explosion. This recipe used pecans, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, blueberries and dried cranberries. Other wonderful options are raspberries, strawberries, banana, apple, pear, coconut, brazil nuts, raisins, dates, and dried figs. The possibilities are endless and they're fun to put together!

Pumpkin Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large banana
1/2 - 1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Topping ideas: blueberries, dried cranberries, raw pumpkin seeds, pecans, chia seeds, etc

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Start with 1/2 cup of coconut milk and add more if you prefer a thinner consistency.

Pour into a bowl and add your toppings of choice. Fresh or dried fruits, seeds, nuts and coconut are great choices.

Enjoy!

Apricot Bliss Bites

One of the most fun and delicious ways to eat healthy foods is to make them into delicious recipes you can share with your loved ones.

Think big colorful salads, zingy and sweet fresh juices, herbed steamed and baked vegetables, vibrant fruit platters, creamy dips with vegetables and crackers, healthy pies, tarts, cookies, and puddings. There’s so many options.

Today I have a perfect recipe to share with you that is so delicious you may need to double or triple the recipe! These little Apricot Bliss Bites blend together the wonderfully complementary flavors of apricot, almond, coconut, orange, cinnamon and ginger for one of the best bites you've had yet.

These Bites are fun to make, and also quick and easy. Take a platter of these to your next gathering or enjoy them at home. You can be sure they'll go fast!

Apricot Bliss Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup organic dried apricots
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup organic coconut flakes
3 tsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp finely grated ginger
1 tbsp orange juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp crushed almonds and/or coconut flakes for rolling

Directions:

1. Pulse the almonds in a food processor until they break down into small pieces. Remove.
2. Pulse the dried apricots (organic is important for most dried fruits) in the food processor to break them down also.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except the 4 tbsp of crushed almonds and coconut into the food processor with the apricots. Process until the mixture sticks together and forms a ball.
4. Take a small amount of mixture and roll it into a small ball. Repeat this process until you have used all of the mixture. You may wish to put a little water on your hands to prevent too much sticking.
5. Roll each ball in the crushed almond and/or coconut flakes to coat.
6. Serve on a plate and watch them go in lightning speed!

Banana Nice Cream With Strawberry Sauce

Next time you find yourself craving ice cream, try out banana nice cream for a sweet, delicious change! While the dairy in regular ice cream can stir up inflammation and allergies, or feed viruses and bacteria in your system, this simple, single-ingredient nice cream and two-ingredient sauce is filled with the natural sweetness your body needs, and will leave you feeling satisfied and energized. This can be a scrumptious dessert to end the day, or even a nourishing breakfast meal. The whole family, kiddos included, will love this fun, wholesome treat! More delicious, family-friendly recipe ideas can be found in 

Don't mistake the processed sugars in packaged cookies and cakes for the life-giving natural sugar found in bananas. Bananas are packed with phenomenal amounts of antioxidants, vitamins and other disease-fighting phytonutrients. Feeling anxious, on edge, or disheartened? Peel open a ripe banana to help alleviate these symptoms and return to a place of tranquility and calm. Adding bananas into one's diet can do wonders for anyone seeking to heal Crohn's disease, colitis, or IBS. The banana's mighty antiviral qualities allow it to fight off HIV and retard the development of this retrovirus as well.

Like all the other foods detailed in my new book, Life-Changing Foods, bananas also provide valuable emotional and spiritual benefits. Just one of the many emotional gifts bananas have to offer is the ability to ease the mind and shift a fearful perspective or outlook. Want to begin lessening PTSD symptoms you or a loved one are experiencing? Consuming three or more bananas a day can ignite this process. Banana nice cream is a tasty, effortless way to add several bananas into your diet each day and begin seeing extraordinary results!

The strawberries in the strawberry-date sauce deliver the perfect sweet flavor with a pleasant hint of tartness! Strawberries are an incredible superfood. Although tiny, this fruit is packed with an enormous array of vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, vitamin E, B-complex, manganese, iron, and zinc. The high level of vitamin C found in strawberries wards off colds, flus, and respiratory infections, and boosts the immune system as a result. These red gems are packed with antioxidants that aid in rebuilding, repairing, and rejuvenating the entire body. The ellagic acid and flavonoids found in strawberries support cardiovascular health and can help prevent heart disease, stroke, and aid in lowering cholesterol. Strawberries also contain high levels of phenols which are anti-inflammatory in nature and make this fruit an essential food for anyone suffering from an autoimmune disorder such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.

Dates are plentiful in taste, texture, and variety. Looking for a sweet, syrupy flavor? Go for the medium-sized Barhi dates. If you want something sweet but a little more meaty, try the slightly larger Medjool variety. Are you an exercise enthusiast or constantly on the go? Replenishing the brain and muscles with the natural energy and high potassium of this small yet powerful food can be miraculous for one's overall health. Maybe you or a loved one struggles with diabetes and hypoglycemia and have refrained from incorporating dates into your diet. Fortunately you can let go of the misconception that sweet fruits, such as dates, negatively impact blood sugar issues. In actuality, dates provide the liver with essential glucose, the loss of which can actually trigger or exacerbate blood sugar issues. Dates can support healing from conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, fungal infections, and vertigo. They can also help reduce constipation, heart palpitations, headaches, and many other symptoms and conditions listed in Life-Changing Foods.

When we consume dates, not only are we gaining countless physical benefits, but we are learning a spiritual lesson around selflessness. Although you might want to squirrel away these sticky, sweet treats for yourself, allowing others to share in your bounty and watching their delight while eating can help adjust your inner compass from selfishness to selflessness and give you a fresh perspective on how healing and beautiful it is to give to others.

As I share in Life-Changing Foods, certain unique foods, like bananas, strawberries, and dates, are more powerful than most people will ever know! I'm so thankful you are here reading this email and my books so that you and your loved ones can benefit from this healing information. I need your help to get Spirit's messages out to the millions of people suffering and struggling, and it all starts with the foods we choose to eat. Do you have a loved one who could benefit from the life-changing foods? Why not start the conversation with a bowl of banana nice cream!

Banana Nice Cream With Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients:
• 4 frozen bananas
• 1 1/2 cups of strawberries, sliced and divided
• 1/2 cup of dates
• optional: 1/4 cup of water

Directions:
For the sauce, blend 1 cup of sliced strawberries with 1/2 cup of dates.

To make the ice cream, cut each frozen banana into 3 to 4 pieces. Place all of these pieces into a food processor and pulse to combine. After pulsing a few times, begin to process continually while adding water by the tablespoon as needed until a thick, creamy, smooth texture is achieved. Place into a freezer-safe bowl. Drizzle the strawberry sauce in a circular pattern over the top of the ice cream. Using a knife, cut the sauce through the ice cream in swirls. Do not over-stir.

Place the bowl in the freezer to set for at least 15 minutes to harden. Scoop ice cream into bowls and serve topped with extra sauce and sliced strawberries.

Serves 2

Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie

This smoothie is not only delicious, it's also perfectly designed to include five key ingredients that work together in synergy to pull heavy metals like mercury, lead, aluminum, nickel, copper, and cadmium out of your organs where they accumulate.

Toxic heavy metals are virtually everywhere, and are present in things we come in contact with every day, such as aluminum cans and aluminum foil, batteries, metal cookware, old paint, and even the foods we eat. For instance, pesticides and herbicides (which are hard to completely avoid even on a strict organic diet), are a common source of heavy metals. As a result, most of us are carrying around heavy metals that have been with us for almost our whole lives and which have burrowed deep inside our tissues.

Unfortunately, it is these “old” metals, the ones that have been lurking in our system for prolonged periods of time, that pose the greatest threat. For example, over time toxic heavy metals can oxidize, causing damage to surrounding tissue and promoting inflammation. They literally poison our bodies, and can inflict damage on virtually every system and organ, including our brain, liver, digestive system, and other parts of our nervous system. Toxic heavy metals put an immense burden on our immune system, leaving us vulnerable to a variety of illnesses.

While toxins of every kind are harmful, heavy metals pose a unique threat. Not only are they damaging in their own right, they are also a form of neurotoxin (a poison that disrupts nerve function and confuses your immune system). Heavy metal neurotoxins can inflame and irritate our central nervous system (especially our brain), causing multiple symptoms such as memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, and depression. Toxic heavy metals can also promote inflammation in the digestive tract, releasing poisons into our gut as well. As if this isn’t bad enough, heavy metals also serve as a source of food for viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens in our body.

For example, heavy metals can serve as a feeding ground for Streptococcus A or B, E. coli, C. difficile, H. pylori, and yeast cells. This can create an overgrowth of multiple bacteria in our gut, resulting in a condition known as SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), which is characterized by bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation (or both), and can lead to nutrient deficiencies. Additionally, when viruses such as Epstein-Barr and shingles feed off toxic heavy metals, this can produce symptoms such as tingling, numbness, fatigue, anxiety, heart palpitations, ringing in the ears, dizziness and vertigo, as well as neck pain, knee pain, foot pain, pain in the back of the head, and a variety of other aches and pains that are often attributed to other causes.

It's virtually impossible not to take in a certain amount of these toxic heavy metals in our modern era, so it's vitally important to our health that we get them out before they can wreak further havoc on our health. Thankfully, it's relatively simple to remove them from our organs if we consume the right foods to do so. Adding the following all-star team of foods to your diet and being diligent in your efforts to consume them will go a long way toward ridding your body of heavy metals:

Hawaiian Spirulina: This edible blue-green algae draws out heavy metals from your brain, central nervous system, and liver, and soaks up heavy metals extracted by barley grass juice extract powder. Take 2 teaspoons mixed in water, coconut water, or juice.

Barley grass juice extract: prepares the mercury for complete absorption by the spirulina. This nutritive grass has the ability to draw heavy metals out of your spleen, intestinal tract, pancreas, thyroid, and reproductive system. Drink 1-2 teaspoons mixed into coconut water or juice.

Cilantro: Goes deep into hard-to-reach places, extracting metals from yesteryear (so it’s great for that mercury inheritance you’re carrying around!). Blend one cup in a smoothie or juice, or add to salad or guacamole.

Wild blueberries: Draw heavy metals out of your brain tissue, healing and repairing any gaps created by oxidation when the heavy metals are removed. It is important to use wild blueberries, as they possess unique phytonutrients with special detoxifying capabilities. The potent antioxidants in wild blueberries help reverse any oxidative damage left behind by the heavy metal removal. This is especially important for your brain tissue—in fact, wild blueberries are the most powerful food for halting or in some cases reversing Alzheimer’s and dementia. Eat at least one cup daily. Note: while cultivated blueberries are nutritious, they lack the metal-drawing ability of the wild blueberries. Wild blueberries can be found in the freezer section of most supermarkets.

Atlantic dulse: In addition to mercury, this edible seaweed binds to lead, aluminum, copper, cadmium, and nickel. Unlike other seaweeds, Atlantic dulse is a powerful force for removing mercury on its own. Atlantic dulse goes into deep, hidden places of the digestive tract and gut, seeking out mercury, binding to it, and never releasing it until it leaves the body. Eat two tablespoons of flakes daily, or an equal amount of strips if it’s in whole-leaf form. Note: As it comes from the ocean, if you are concerned about the dulse itself having mercury, be aware that Atlantic sea dulse will not release any mercury it might possess into the body. It holds on to the mercury as it works its way through, and even grabs onto other metals along the way and drives them out as well. Atlantic dulse is a critical part of the team because it can hang out near the finish line (i.e., our colon), waiting for the other foods that have been grabbing on to heavy metals along the way. It serves as emergency backup, helping ensure that all the heavy metals that made it as far as the colon actually leave the body.

Today's smoothie recipe gives you a simple and tasty way to get all of these five foods into your daily diet in just one go. Drink this smoothie daily for optimal benefits.

Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie

Ingredients:
2 bananas
2 cups wild blueberries
1 cup cilantro
1 cup orange juice
1 tsp barley grass juice powder
1 tsp spirulina
1 small handful of Atlantic dulse
Optional: water to blend

Directions:
In a high speed blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. If a thinner consistency is desired, add up to 1 cup of water. Enjoy!