Off went the shoes, and our feet connected with the cold, grass-covered earth beneath us.  It was March 3^rd, and our Healing Touch instructor had just called a break. She said she was going outside to connect with Mother Earth, and she invited us to do the same. The entire class followed like baby ducks.

Never forgetting that early March cold, moist sensation, it was with interest I read the article posted on www.mercola.com, “Superfood Expert, David Wolfe, Shares Latest Insights on How to Stay Healthy.”

“The studies indicate we can just touch the earth with our bare feet or our bare skin; sit down on the grass, and the earth actually releases anti-inflammatory electromagnetic radiation,” David says. “This helps to draw out inflammation, in particular of your lower extremities: your feet, our ankles, knees, and hips.”

Dr. Mercola further explains, “My own understanding of this phenomenon is that it’s not caused so much by the electromagnetic radiation but rather from the transfer of free electrons from the earth; a grounding effect that is, in my understanding, one of the most potent antioxidants we know of.”

In terms of inflammation, shoes also block the beneficial electromagnetic radiation of the earth, which actually has an anti-inflammatory effect. According to David, 30 studies performed by Clint Ober over the past 12 years support this finding.

Per David, “If there is a local park or a beach nearby where you can easily get your shoes off and take a walk, this is really powerful in terms of helping you deal with inflammation of your ankles, knees, hips, and, I would say, even lower back.”

The article further explains that walking barefoot can also help ameliorate the constant irritation caused by EMFs and other types of radiation on your system from cell phones, computers and Wi-Fi on your system. By getting outside, barefoot, touching the earth, and allowing the excess charge in your body to discharge into the earth, you can alleviate some of the stress put on your system.

Per Dr. Mercola: “Walking barefoot outside and breathing fresh air are grossly neglected foundational health principles, as is having large amounts of your skin exposed to natural sunlight so you can optimize your vitamin D, which is another crucial component for treating inflammation.”

Why not kick off your shoes and try it out for yourself?

All week I have shared the dangers and harmful effects of certain food/food groups and fake foods. Today I want to share with you tips on what foods to avoid and what foods to include in your daily diet.

One of the best resources you could ever find is Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Disease-Proof Your Child. Know that when Dr. Fuhrman speaks about “what to feed your child,” simply replace the word “child” with “you.” No matter your age, you will be miles ahead on your journey to live your best life ever if you follow his sage advice.

Dr. Fuhrman’s “The Five Most Dangerous Things to Feed Your Child” are as follows:

1. Butter and cheese – full of saturated fat and fat-delivered chemical pollutants
2. Potato chips and french fries – rich in trans fat, salt, and carcinogenic acrylamides
3. Doughnuts and other trans fat-containing sweets – rich in trans fat, sugar, and other artificial substances
4. Sausages, hot dogs, and other luncheon meats – contain N-nitroso compounds that are potent carcinogens
5. Pickled, smoked, or barbequed meats – places you at risk of both stomach cancer and high blood pressure

Dr. Fuhrman’s “Fab Five” are as follows:

1. Berries –Add berries to morning cereals. Make dessert sorbets from frozen berries. My kids love frozen strawberries blended with an orange or orange juice. We usually add a slice of dried pineapple and use our Vita-Mix to make a smooth and delicious strawberry sorbet.
2. Greens –Make steamed greens with a cashew butter cream sauce. Kids love it. We blend raw cashews and a few dried onion flakes with some soy milk* and make a great sauce for chopped kale or broccoli.
3. Seeds –Seeds are supernutritious wonder foods. Try sprinkling some lightly toasted unhulled sesame seeds and sunflower seeds on salads and vegetables. We like to grind some into a powder and use it like salt on food.
4. Beans –Beans are fiber- and nutrient-packed. They give soups that chewy goodness and long-lasting satiety. Add a mixture of split peas, lentils, and adzuki beans to soups and simmer over low heat about three hours.
5. Tomatoes –Tomatoes are a wonder food in their own class. Whether you consider them a fruit or a vegetable, it matters not. Slice them into pita pocket sandwiches. Mash some almond butter with a fork into some tomato sauce to add the vegetable-tomato-sprout-avocado pita pocket. What a great school lunch.

*Just a note about soy…I personally am concerned about the over-use of soy in our diet today. They are just too many studies speaking to the harmful effects of too much soy in our diet. I personally think it is wise to use soy, like anything else, in moderation. Other “cow-milk” alternatives include rice milk and almond milk, which both have a great taste.

Dr. Fuhrman also lists “Ten Super Foods to Use in Your Recipes and Menus” as follows:

1. Avocadoes
2. Blueberries/Blackberries
3. Cantaloupes
4. Carrots/Beets
5. Flax Seeds
6. Green Lettuce
7. Kale
8. Sesame seeds
9. Strawberries
10. Tomatoes

In the back of his book, Dr. Fuhrman features his child-tested, kid-friendly recipes that are “delicious, easy to prepare, and great for the whole family.” Tomorrow I will cover more about this topic of the “whole family.”

 Dr. Fuhrman’s book is published by St. Martin’s Press, and his web site is www.drfuhrman.com. Check out his information. You, and your family, will be glad you did!

The following statement by Dr. Richard Cutler, Director of the Anti-Aging Research Department of the National Institute of Health (NIH) Washington, D.C., got my attention: “The amount of antioxidants that you maintain in your body is directly proportional to how long you will live.”

What are antioxidants, and how do you get them? An excellent resource on antioxidants is Lester Packer and Carol Colman’s book The Antioxidant Miracle. Lester Packer is a cellular biologist who started studying antioxidants in the 1950s. He has published over 700 scientific papers and 70 books on antioxidants and health. Packer and Colman state:  “Antioxidants are a group of compounds that are produced by the body and that occur naturally in many foods. Antioxidants work together in the body to maintain our health and vigor well into the late decades of life. They do this by protecting us from damage caused by free radicals, which can injure healthy cells and tissues.” Packer’s famous quote says it all: “I am not talking about just adding years to our lives; I am talking about adding life to our years.”

Some antioxidants can be produced by the body, but others can only be obtained from our food. There are hundreds of antioxidants, but five are called “network antioxidants” and are critical to good health. Glutathione, Lipoic Acid, and Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) are produced by the body, but the level of these antioxidants decline as we age. Vitamin C and Vitamin E are not produced by the body and must be obtained through food.

Most sources today recommend that we consume anywhere from seven to thirteen servings of brightly colored fruits and vegetables every day.  Examples include leafy greens, such as kale and spinach, and other green vegetables such as broccoli and brussel sprouts.  Red and yellow vegetables include tomatoes, red bell peppers, carrots, and squash. Some examples of brightly colored fruits include berries, plums, and apricots.

We can also find rich antioxidant foods in some unexpected sources. A study of the antioxidant content of common foods published in the June 2004 edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry listed the 20 most antioxidant-rich foods as follows:

Given what has been explained earlier, the nutrient value of those fruits, vegetables, and beans is dependent upon the quality of the soil and the presence or absence of herbicides and insecticides.

How many of us consume seven to thirteen servings of high quality fruits and vegetables per day?  While live, organic food is the best source, supplementation is also available. When selecting a quality supplement, look for the following:

1.    Whole food source

2.    Organic source

3.     No preservatives

4.  High “ORAC” scale rating. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity.