My favorite little berry is finally back in season and with more reasons to eat then ever before. You absolutely must avoid conventionally grown strawberries as they are laced with a fungicide that does not wash off easily.

Strawberries are high in ellagic acid. Probably the most important inhibitor of angiogenesis (capillary blood vessel growth).  Angiogenesis, though necessary for life, is most likely the main causal factor in various disease affection about 1 billion people.

Angiogenesis builds blood vessels that cancer tumors and other diseases need for survival. Another great inhibitor of rogue angiogenesis is the resveratrol in grapes and wine.

Eating a healthy diet based on traditional whole foods grown properly and without chemicals and poisons again is the best way to beat disease.

Dr. Richard Johnson

Uric Acid is the root of all evil.  But it would not be such a problem for our body if we cut down on our sugar consumption – primarily fructose, the leading cause of uric acid in the blood.  The early stages of disease are vascular lesions which lead to hypertension and kidney disfunction, and the end result is diabetes and fatty liver disease and eventually death by heart disease.  By limiting our exposure to fructose we take a huge leap to restoring normal uric acid in our blood, healing our kidneys and liver, healing our small vascular arteries and veins and allowing our pancreas to function without increased strain.

So stop all consumption of any processed food product that contains any of the high fructose family – any ingredient that ends in “tose”.  (Maltose, dextrose, etc.)  Limit your exposure to high fructose fruits like figs, mangos, grapes, raisins and apricots.

And you may be thinking about the direct link of exercise to these health risks – fructose destroys our natural energy system of the cells of our body and leaves us feeling exhausted.  Cut out the fructose and you will feel your energy return and have the desire to move and exercise again.

Salt has been increasing in the standard American diet (SAD) since the 1970’s when we saw an explosion in processed foods -primarily in TV dinners. The type of salt we consume matters – pure iodized table salt has been “purified” and is actually extremely harmful to our cells much the way crack is way more harmful then pure cocaine. Bad analogy I know but I cannot think of one more befitting. Processed salt actually wicks hydration out of the interior of the cell and perfuses it out into our extracellular matrix, giving us that bloated and puffy feeling. The joys of high blood pressure and hypertension.

Salt can be a very good thing – buy you must use salt with minerals in it. It should NOT be pure white. As a rule of thumb do not consume pure white things like white flour, sugar, salt, bread, and of course cocaine. Skip the table and Kosher salts. Pink Himalayan, Celtic sea salt and Fleur de Sel are definitely going to be better choices. And for you foodies out there, checkout Slates salt tests from a gourmet standpoint. And the most important macrobiotic rule is to ALWAYS cook your salt first. Never sprinkle salt raw on your food and consume – put in the pan as you cook to make it easier on your body.

From NextGenerationFood:

The American Medical Association says cutting our salt consumption in half could save 150,000 lives a year. Whether it is your decision or the government’s, experts agree it is time to start thinking about how much salt you are really eating.

If Americans cut their salt intake by just half a teaspoon per day, it would produce public health benefits on par with reducing high cholesterol, smoking, or obesity a new study has found, CNN reported. But the idea of cutting the salt intake in your diet is easier said than done.

This recent article in the New Yorker by Atul Gawande speaks to a central issue of the US Healthcare system which is broken at best – the overuse of medicine. And when it comes to your health in this case, more is definitely not better. The states with the most care ranked lowest in quality patient care.

In general surgery the gallbladder is known as the “golden thumb”. A quick, easy surgery that generates massive profits that is usually unneccesary with dietary changes and visceral manipulation to release the tension in the gallbladders compartment.

General surgeons are often asked to see patients with pain from gallstones. If there aren’t any complications—and there usually aren’t—the pain goes away on its own or with pain medication. With instruction on eating a lower-fat diet, most patients experience no further difficulties. But some have recurrent episodes, and need surgery to remove their gallbladder.
Seeing a patient who has had uncomplicated, first-time gallstone pain requires some judgment. A surgeon has to provide reassurance (people are often scared and want to go straight to surgery), some education about gallstone disease and diet, perhaps a prescription for pain; in a few weeks, the surgeon might follow up. But increasingly, I was told, McAllen surgeons simply operate. The patient wasn’t going to moderate her diet, they tell themselves. The pain was just going to come back. And by operating they happen to make an extra seven hundred dollars.