Toxicity

The Colors of Life

           Natural foods come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors.  Everything on Earth has its own unique function and characteristics.  Eating fruits and vegetables of a variety of different colors can give you the best all-round health benefits as each contains a distinctive blend of super nutrients that are fantastic for our well-being.    

Red:  Fruits and vegetables with the color red contain a super anti-oxidant in    the carotenoid pigment lycopene.  Lycopene is found in tomatoes, red & pink grapefruit, guava, watermelon , & papaya, red bell pepper, and gogi berrie s.  A fruit grown in Southern Asia called "gac" is considered the most lycopene rich food with over 70 times the amount of lycopene as tomato products per volume.

Lycopene is absorbed most effectively when it is combined with a fat source.  Gac contains saturated and unsaturated fatty acids making it naturally bioavailable.  Tomato sauces or tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil is another bioavailable source.  Lycopene is noted for its powerful ability to scavenge free radicals and inhibit cancer cell formation and arterial inflammation. 

Orange:  Orange containing fruits and vegetables are rich in the potent anti-oxidant beta-carotene.  Beta carotene is found in sweet potatoes, yams, mangos, carrots, & apricots.    The Vietnamese superfood "gac" has the most beta-carotene with over 10x the amount as carrots.

Beta carotene helps prevent night blindness and other eye problems while working to help improve eye function.  It also acts to enhance skin health and immune system stability.  Beta carotene has powerful anti-oxidant properties which help clean the body of free radicals that damage tissue and cause cancer

Greens:  The color of life is derived by chlorophyll which is one of the most powerful life-giving substances on the planet.  The chlorophyll content of a food is a major indicator of the health attributes of any given plant based food.  Chlorophyll rich foods have a very deep green and are extraordinarily useful in building new blood cells and purifying the body from cancer and radiation.

Additionally, green foods contain the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin that are  being studied for their ability to protect your eyes by keeping your retina strong.  They are also rich in folate, magnesium, copper, B6, & potassium.  Many green vegetables like kale and collard greens contain powerfulglucosinolates and methyl cysteine sulfoxides.  These super-nutrients help to activate detoxifying enzymes in the liver that play an important role in neutralizing carcinogenic substances.

Blue/Purple:  These darker pigments add beautiful shades that enrich your plate.  They are also rich in flavonoids, phytochemicals, and anti-oxidants.  The phytochemical pigment responsible for the dark color is called anthocyanins.  Foods that are rich in anthocyanins include blueberries, plums, red cabbage, eggplant, blackberries, raspberries, & cranberries. 

These super nutrients have an especially powerful ability to minimize cancer-induced DNA damage, stall the growth of pre-malignant cells, accelerate cancer cell death, and reduce inflammatory mediators that initiate cancer cell growth.  Berries are one of the richest sources of anthocyanins and many experts believe that our ancestors ate far more anthocyanins than we do.  In comparison, many researchers believe we are deficient in anthocyanins.

White:  The onion family which includes leeks, scallions, onions, & garlic all contain the sulfur containing compound called allicin.  This is a powerful anti-microbial that destroys bacteria, viruses, &fungi.  Allicin is also a powerful anti-inflammatory that destroys cancer, lowers cholesterol, and reduces inflammatory damage to the heart and vasculature. 

Mushrooms contain beta-glucan, selenium, vitamin B6, zinc, & copper that are critical for healthy immune function and the formation of the cellular anti-oxidant glutathione.  Cauliflower contains the phytochemicals Indole-3-Carbonyl and Sulfaforaphanes which are some of nature's most powerful cancer fighters.  

About the author

Dr. David Jockers owns and operates Exodus Health Center in Kennesaw, Ga. He is a chiropractor, exercise physiologist, and health researcher.   His expertise is in weight loss, customized nutrition & exercise, & structural corrective chiropractic care. For more information go to www.exodushc.com

View Other articles published by this author by clicking HERE.

Test Time!

As finals approach many students (even the best of us) tend to over stress and therefore over complicate their study schedules.

It is sometimes hard not to stress when the fear of failing a class, losing a scholarship, being cut off by your parents, or simply getting the grade you originally aimed for is pounding in the back of your head.  However; the consequences of not making the best grade on a final or in a class do not compare to the consequences of excessive stress.

Stressing excessively is the last thing anyone should do during study time. Stress not only impairs one's memory and concentration abilities but wreaks havoc on the body in other ways as well.  In addition to the impaired cognitive functioning and the over-stimulation of cortisol and other stress hormones, stress can also disrupt sleep patterns, exacerbate headaches and migraines, cause indigestion, induce food cravings, cause insulin resistance (causing the body to store fat), and increase anxiety, aggressiveness and feelings of depression (none of which help with studying)!

Helpful tips:

Exercise! The benefits of regular exercise are almost endless. Specifically, exercise is one of the best ways to alleviate stress.  Exercise forces the body to produce and reset hormone levels such as Human Growth Hormone, testosterone, and many thyroid hormones (t3, t4, TSH), as well as reset sleep patterns, detoxify the body as a whole, and increase blood flow to the brain and other parts of the body.

Relax!  Take a yoga class, take a walk, meditate, pray, or participate in hobbies and other stress reducing activities.  People who are high strung like me tend to over think things.  Sometimes it helps to take frequent breaks from studying or projects simply to get some fresh air and allow the mind to reset and calm down.

Rethink!  The worst possible situation that could arise from acquiring a failing grade is that one might lose some scholarship money, be required to work and go to school part time, or simply have to retake a class. Alternatively, the consequences of excessive stress can be life threatening.  Continuous stress disrupts normal hormonal function and puts the body in a constant state of panic. This can lead to the generation of free radicals, accelerate the aging process, impair immune functions, and even cause cancer and other forms of chronic disease if not kept in check.

Backup! Any time a stressful situation arises (whether in school or not), attempt to rethink the situation; mentally “take a step back,” and try to logically work out the problem at hand.  Realize that stress is just a wall or other mental obstacle.  Instead of panicking and trying to climb over that wall, tear it down, or bust through it, simply take a step back and walk around it.

Once the realization occurs that mental stress has absolutely no benefits it will be easier to shrug it off and pull through normally stressful situations.  This will not only make study time more efficient and peaceful, but also life in general.  

Health

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