The Beauty Detox Solution (23 page)
Read The Beauty Detox Solution Online
Authors: Kimberly Snyder
BEAUTY GREENS AND VEGETABLES
As we discussed in Chapter 4, Beauty Minerals and Enzymes, greens are our most important food group. Greens are among the most nutrient dense of all foods and are full of alkaline minerals, chlorophyll and amino acids. They make up our key beauty foods that regenerate and purify our cells. We'll be drinking the Glowing Green Smoothie and Glowing Green Juice daily in the Radiant and True Beauty phases.
Besides greens, we want to eat from a wide range of vegetables, which will supply us with key minerals, enzymes and vitamins. Their fiber will help sweep waste from the body, as well as fill us up. All vegetables leave an alkaline residue, with the exception of starchy vegetables Beautiful Carbohydrates and Starches.
It is highly preferable to eat all vegetables fresh. However, frozen vegetables are a good choice if you don't have time to pick up, or don't have access to, fresh produce. Freezing individual portions of the Glowing Green Smoothie or the Glowing Green Juice and thawing them out the night before can be a great time-saver. However, canned vegetables (and anything canned, really!) should be avoided altogether.
RAW VERSUS COOKED VEGETABLES
Eating vegetables raw is key to obtaining the most beautifying vitamins, enzymes and nutrition, so we should be eating plenty of salads and raw veggies every day. Any type of heat will destroy some of their nutrients.
But I know it is not reasonable for all of us to eat only salads all the time! It is okay to have some cooked vegetables, especially when we are transitioning and at dinner. When cooking vegetables, you want to avoid overcooking them, because you want to preserve the nutrients as much as you can. Steaming or lightly sautéing, for example, will retain some of the vegetables' nutrients and ensure they digest easily.
Starchy vegetables are a part of the Beauty Detox Solution eating plan but have different properties than other vegetables. (For more information on them, refer to the
Beautiful Carbohydrates and Starches section.
In contrast to non-starch vegetables, starchy veggies
should
be cooked well.
Best Beauty Greens and Vegetables
WHY ORGANIC MATTERS
The only true way to reach our highest and most beautiful potential is to be in harmony with the laws of nature. Mother Nature knows best! Organic farming is completely in line with natural laws and treats the soil and our earth with the respect they deserve. In organic farming, crops are rotated so as not to deplete the soil of its vital minerals. The produce is carefully and thoughtfully grown. Organic crops have the highest energy and life force possible, which are exhibited in a greater vitamin and mineral content than in commercial counterparts, and higher levels of phytochemicals and antioxidants.
Strong, beautiful
and chemical-free produce builds strong, beautiful and chemical-free bodies!
Organic farmers allow fruits and vegetables to fully ripen on the vine, instead of relying on combustive chemicals to force them to ripen prematurely and artificially. Once a food is picked, it cannot absorb any more minerals or nutrition from the plant it was picked from, the sun or the soil. It makes total sense that since organic foods are usually picked at later stages and are grown in much better soil, they yield much higher quantities of beautifying vitamins and minerals and their taste is far superior! When I was backpacking for a year and a half through Asia, I was so spoiled by the out-of-this-world flavorful, sweet bananas that grew naturally across the Philippines and Laos. On the polar end of the spectrum are the wimpy-tasting commercial ones that you can buy at gas stations. They taste like something molded into the shape of a banana, but with only a fraction of the flavor added in. So unsatisfying!
A study conducted in 2002 by Rutgers University revealed an astonishing difference in mineral content between organic and conventional produce, especially in terms of the minerals iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese and potassium. The Rutgers research found 87 percent more trace elements and minerals in organic produce versus produce that was commercially grown.
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These are among our key beauty minerals.
Since the 1950s, as commercial farming has adopted practices like chemical fertilizing and plant breeding, and soil conditions have declined, there has been a marked decrease in the average nutritional content of grains as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.
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To quote Michael Pollan from
In Defense of Food:
Support Local Farmers' Markets
I know that making the choice to buy organic can be limited by geographic location and budget. We must do the best that we can. If you are limited for either of these reasons, I suggest you look into our local friendsâour local farmers! Local farm produce is usually priced pretty competitively with commercial produce. Even though local produce isn't always labeled organic, as it can be pricey to get certified, local farmers are still oftentimes using organic practices! As they operate much smaller farms, they don't have to resort to many of the mass commercial farming practices. If you go to your local farmers' market, you can talk to the farmers about their fertilizer methods and other farming practices. Local
and
organic is by far the best combination.
USDA figures show a decline in the nutrient content of the forty-three crops it has tracked since the 1950s. In one recent analysis, vitamin C declined by 20 percent, iron by 15 percent, riboflavin by 38 percent, calcium by 16 percent. Government figures from England tell a similar story: declines since the fifties of 10 percent or more in levels of iron, zinc, calcium, and selenium across a range of food crops. To put this in more concrete terms, you now have to eat three apples to get the same amount of iron as you would have gotten from a single 1940 apple.
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All these commercial farming practices are directly in opposition to the natural laws of growing food and are motivated by the desire to grow more produce faster and sell more at a cheaper cost, yet we're the ones paying for it.
Not only is organic food more nutritious, but it doesn't contain the unhealthy pesticides used in conventional farming. Pesticides are neurotoxins that destroy the central nervous system of various pests. Whenever we eat conventionally grown produce, we invariably eat trace pesticides, as well. Exposure to these pesticides may contribute to a whole host of health problems, such as cancer, birth defects, damage to the central nervous system and developmental problems.
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These pesticides and herbicide poisons have a serious impact on our beauty, as well: they contribute to toxic sludge and tax our liver. Clean food equals clean bodies, which equal clean, natural beauty. Period.
If you can't buy all organic produce
Foods You Must Buy Organic
, you can look into the various fruit and vegetable cleansers in the produce sections of health food stores. You can soak your produce for thirty minutes to an hour in a mixture of filtered water and ¾ cup of apple cider vinegar or one of these produce cleansers. This can at least help with reducing some of the pesticide content, though, of course, this won't help increase the mineral content of produce.
Achieving real beauty is about total harmony with the universe and our earth
and all the elements that supply usâthe sun, water and airâwith our foods. Part of this harmony and understanding is that we should never tamper with nature or attempt to improve upon her perfection.
BEAUTY TIP
Look for OceanSolution Produce
A company called OceanSolution created the world's first “mineralizer.” As opposed to chemical-filled fertilizer, OceanSolution mineralizer contains every element in its natural proportion to truly nourish the soil and the plants grown in it. OceanSolution is sustainable and renewable. Look for certified and labeled OceanSolution produce in your health or grocery store!
We take a stand for what we believe in by the choices we make and the way we live our life. Choose organic as much as you can and whenever you can. Your beauty and health are definitely worth the investment! When we choose organic, we choose nature, and we become more naturally beautiful ourselves.
Foods You Must Buy Organic
In his book
Diet for a Poisoned Planet,
David Steinman shares his extensive research into which produce has the most toxic residue from conventional farming methods.
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He analyzed foods for more than one hundred different industrial chemicals and pesticides, and he used laboratory detection limits that were about ten times more sensitive than normal FDA detection standards.
From Steinman's toxicity analysis, he was able to determine which foods were absolutely essential to buy organic. So if you aren't buying
all
organic, always look for organic versions of these foods:
Apples
Bell Peppers
Celery
Cucumbers
Peaches
Pears
Raisins
Spinach
Strawberries
Summer Squash
SPROUTS: A POWERFUL FOOD FOR YOUR BEAUTY DETOX
Spouts are one of the most magical and beneficial foods that we can consume. Seeds have the DNA to continue the next generation and to grow into a plant or a tree. When a seed becomes sprouted, it begins to transition from a dormant seed into an actual living plant. In this exciting process of maturation, much of the stored nutrition begins to multiply. The protein content can increase by up to 30 percent and the enzyme content can increase up to 1,000 percent or more. The availability of chlorophyll, fiber, the B vitamins, as well as vitamins C, E and K will also dramatically increase.
Many health practitioners believe that sprouts are one of the greatest healing foods available. Dr. Ann Wigmore wrote about and researched sprouts extensively, and both the Ann Wigmore Natural Health Institute in Rincón, Puerto Rico, and the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida, which was inspired by Dr. Wigmore's work,
stress the importance of consuming sprouts. Many people visit these institutes to heal their bodies naturally of illness, and they are fed a diet high in sprouts.
BEAUTY SECRET
According to yogic philosophy, sprouts are the highest
prana
(energy) food of all since a sprout is gathering as much energy as possible to transition from a seed to a plant.
Cost-wise, I don't think you can find more comprehensive nourishment for less money! You can find containers of sprouts at your local grocery store for no more than a few dollars. If you have the kitchen space and motivation, you can also try sprouting your own seeds. Be sure to add sprouts to your salads, wraps and recipes as much as possible!
Best Beauty Sprouts
BEAUTY FROM THE SEA
Sea vegetables are a very important beauty food group. You may not have heard a lot about sea vegetables, especially if you've been eating a SAD (Standard American Diet), but these are worth familiarizing yourself with!