From Brian Clement Director of Hippocrates Health Instiitute I finished writing my scientific paper on B-12 deficiencies yesterday. That will be published in our upcoming newsletter, Hippocrates. You may have heard me talk about this, but I’m going to really articulate it clearly now and go through what we discovered. Hippocrates Health Institute, over many decades, collected blood samples from hundreds of people who had been on the Hippocrates Living Food Program. I’m not talking about fashionable and “off the deep end” programs, but ones that are scientifically validated. This means diets that don’t have lot of fruit in them but do have a lot of greens, fresh foods and sprouts that are nutritious versus vegetables that were picked two or three weeks earlier that you eat thinking you’re getting something from them.

Through blood tests, we were not finding that people who had been on the Hippocrates Living Food Diet had B-12 deficiencies.

Dr. Gabriel Cousens and Rev. George Malcolmis alerted me a little more than three years ago that they were finding through urine tests that there were high B-12 deficiencies among the general population, and even vegans and living fooders. That sparked an interest. That information was given to me a little before we had our first international gathering of living food leaders. That’s where the living food leaders of eight countries came together and were trying to create international standards where we speak with one clear voice so that the populous is not confused and doing fun things rather than right things. In the first meeting we had, B-12 deficiency was a major topic of discussion. What was really stunning to me was that we had a harmonious agreement in a matter of 30 minutes that we need to start telling people to take bacterial forms of B-12 supplementation. It was really nice to see that we as a group grew to that level of maturity. Then I went on my own search to see why this was. Fortunately, because we have been doing this for three decades, neither Anna Marie nor I had B-12 deficiencies. But we found out that we were the lucky ones. We then introduced the SpectraCell test at Hippocrates. A SpectraCell test is the very first test that I have been able to feel comfortable with as a nutritional scientist. All other blood test for nutrition literally take blood out and see what is floating around in the blood stream in the form of “nutrients” versus what was ingested and absorbed by the blood cells. With the SpectraCell test, we take the blood and ship it off to a laboratory where they open up the leucocite, the white blood cell, and see what nutrients have been absorbed by the body. Hold your horses. We’re finding that about 65% of the general populous, including living food vegans, have B-12 deficiencies.

I’ll give you Gabriel Cousens’ attitude on this, along with some input from George Malcolmis. If you were born to a living food couple as a baby, it would probably take six years for you to acquire a significant B-12 deficiency.

I spent a number of hours at university medical school libraries. Finally, I led myself to start to look at the anatomical structure of the human body, understanding that B-12 is naturally a bacterium that you find in soil. That’s organic soil, obviously, not pesticide-ridden soil. (Bacteria are subject to death from pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and cooking; put that in the back of your head.) What came to mind was that I’d better start to look at the large intestine, because that’s where B-12 resides and multiplies. When I went back about 300 years ago, to about 1700 A.D., and then chronology moved forward looking at sketches, drawings and 20th century photographs of the large intestine, it became apparent to me that the anatomical structure or shape of the large intestine, the colon, had significantly changed over that 300-year period. Now I’ll try to describe it. You will be able to see it in the upcoming early summer Hippocrates magazine. We are going to highlight B-12, along with a lot of other information on nutrients and supplements and how important they are. What we show is that 300 years ago the ascending colon, the part that goes down on the left side right below the ileocecal valve, basically poured out the digestive food. When it went down, it went in at the bottom of the ascending colon, which protruded inward and looked something like the front of a boot. Remember, this was at a time when we had nothing but organic food. A plant-based diet was what most people always ate. This digested food with all of the B-12 bacteria in it went down there and literally cultured itself. The B-12 actually created and recreated itself in that little pocket. By the early part of the 20th century, and certainly by the middle part of the century, this had dynamically and dramatically changed. Now where the ascending colon is dropping in the digestion food, you don’t have the front of a boot anymore. It just goes straight down and then straight up again. In that area at the front of the boot, the little pocket that I talked about, is a little, shriveled-up appendix. The appendix was part of that anatomical structure at one point. It is really part of the lymphatic system, the major filter system of the body. It has a secondary work to excrete a mucus-laginous type of substance, a lubricant, so that when the paristaltic action of the large intestine (that vibration that makes poop and everything come out you) is well-lubricated. At this point, in great part none of our body is lubricating well and it’s not filtering well. We sadly hear that medical students are being taught that we don’t need an appendix. The bottom line is that we once needed it, but we somehow disrupted it. Today we have a problem because we don’t have a perpetual B-12 which is cultured within our own body, so we need an input of B-12. Here is the other interesting thing. One pathway of this study is that in the 399 other studies I looked at, the people who consume the most animal fat and saturated fat have the highest incidence and level of B-12 deficiency. Here is my take on that, and my take on everyone having a B-12 deficiency: We don’t take a bacterial form of B-12. The meat eater is consuming an animal that is enriched with B-12 because its teeth or beak is on the ground all day long and filling its body up with B-12. When you cook that (or you put antibiotics, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in it), the B-12 is literally dead but the skeletal print of the B-12 is still present. Because the body assumes that the biochemistry is there, it now stops producing, culturing or keeping B-12. That’s why the heavy meat eaters, ironically the opposite of what we’ve been told, have a higher incidence of B-12 deficiency. I would assume that light animal food consumers have approximately the same B-12 deficiency as long-term vegans or vegetarians. The general populous suffers a B-12 deficiency because they are not taking it. In the old days, we used to say things like, “Tempeh has B-12,” and in fact they do have a fraction of an amount. Things like blue-green algae also have B-12, but it doesn’t transfer over and become utilized by the human body and cells. We have to take something that is stronger. Ironically, when I came to this discovery, I discovered that almost every single B-12 on the market globally is a chemical form of B-12 made in laboratories. I had a company in California make me a B-12 supplement, LifeGive B-12.

B-12 Deficiency is something that you need to take very seriously. If you don’t take it seriously, the consequence is memory loss. The consequence is neurological damage. In short, medically what it does is it affects all neuron activity in the human body—brain neurons, body neurons. You can have everything from symptomology of Parkinson’s Disease to Alzheimer’s. A lot of people have extremities that feel tingly and weak, which is the initial stage. This is something that is very serious. In all of my 38 years of work, I’ve never been more serious about getting out there and telling people to take a supplement as I am on B-12 supplementation. Make sure you take the right form, the bacterial form. A little sub-study on this is that as of three or four weeks ago, I actually looked at 38 people who had taken injectable forms of B-12. That seems to be common. People have low energy, and of course the doctor doesn’t know very much about it. Even holistic doctors often say, “You have anemia because you’re not eating meat,” or you’re not doing this or doing that, or you’re too fat or whatever story they have. And so they inject it. Injected B-12 acts almost like an amphetamine to the body. It is a stimulant. People like it because they feel good for a few days afterward, and then they have to go back in for another injection periodically. Out of the 38 people who were consistently taking injections, over an average of about 14 months, we found that 32 of them had too little B-12. That means only six of them were getting B-12, and I’m not sure if that was just by chance, if they didn’t have it to begin with. Don’t think that taking injections of the chemical form of B-12 is going to do you much good. Click here to order Life Give B-12 LifeGive B-12: $42.00 Cyanocobalamin 2,000mg. 200 Tablets LifeGive B-12 is a soil - based supplement recommended for those on a vegetarian diet, (not consuming blue 0 green alge). Also for those with low RBC (red blood cell) count, increases Hemogolobin (iron) levels int eh blood and provides energy. May also be helpful with Gastro - Intestinal disorders.

Do you sometimes find yourself in a state of low energy, a little depressed perhaps, or just "gross" in general? Maybe you wake up one day and realize that for the past few days you've been feeling kind of low.And then you think about what you've been eating lately, you realize that your diet has kind of been going downhill. Eating out at restaurants, or eating more fat than usual, or grabbing whatever is available without taking the time to eat lots of healthy raw foods. If you've never felt like this, you're one of the rare few and it's likely that many people think you're probably not from this planet! In any case, what I'm going to talk about can apply to some of your human friends who may be feeling low in energy and gross, once in a while. The solution is something simple that I learned years ago when I made friends with the people who are now considered to be the top "raw food" promoters on the planet. "Taking Massive Raw Food Action" About 8 years ago I was working with David Wolfe and his company Nature's First Law in California. If you don't know these guys, well, they're sort of the modern "gurus" of raw foods. Back then, they had a saying about "taking massive raw food action", which was their main strategy for transitioning to a raw food diet. But this seemingly extreme advice actually is good as it applies to everyone even if they are not raw foodists. Raw fruits and vegetables are by far the healthiest foods, so the easiest, number one way to feel like a million bucks is to start putting more of those in your body!

*Question*: Can you show me an example of taking massive raw food action?

*Answer*: When I talk about raw foods here I mean raw fruits and vegetables. We'll exclude nuts, seeds, avocados and other fatty foods which must be limited for various optimal health reasons. But no matter what you're diet is like, you can start taking "massive raw food action" simply by putting more fruits and vegetables in your body. It's easy to do. Simple changes can easily be incorporated into your day. Add a few slices of that delicious watermelon to your morning breakfast routine. Bring a jug of homemade smoothies to work with you. Head to the grocery store or your local farmer's market and stock up on lots of delicious blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries and eating these antioxidant-rich foods like candy!

Q: How can I get started with taking massive raw food action? A: Here are some quick tips to get started taking massive raw food action, even if you are a committed raw foodist. * Go to the grocery store and get a ton of fruits and vegetables, and make sure you buy those that you like and not just those you think you should eat because you think they are better for you. If you like seedless grapes, get those, even though you may worry they are not as nutritious as other fruits. * Commit to an exclusively raw breakfast. Eat as much fruit as desired. * Always eat a big apple before every cooked meal. Eat the apple about 30 minutes before the meal.

Remember, one apple a day keeps the doctor away... and 3 apples and day keeps the *surgeon* away.

* Get the raw food in every way you can. Summer is the time to do it. Go bananas on berries. Have fun with this. * Eat a big salad or drink a big green smoothie every single day. * If you already eat a lot of raw foods, and you don't feel at your best, chances are that you're not eating enough. Take even more massive action by eating more high-calorie fruits like bananas and mangoes. * Eat the amount of raw foods you feel comfortable eating, without forcing it, and make sure you enjoy what you eat! Try out new fruits or buy your favorite ones, even if they are a little more expensive. * Use your blenders to make smoothies and other treats. * Freeze some bananas to make bananas "ice-cream" by running the frozen banana pieces in a food processor or a special juicer (like the Champion). * When watching TV, bring a nice bowl of grapes or berries and enjoy a healthy treat. Do the same at the movie theater! It's cheaper than popcorn and a lot better for you! When you get more raw foods into your body, you will feel better. The point is not to become a "raw foodist" necessarily but to understand that fresh fruits and vegetables are the healthiest foods for your body. This week, take massive raw food action! The above was authored by Frederic Patenaude, a.k.a The Smiling Mango. PS: If you'd like to take massive raw food action and start experiencing the benefits of a raw diet right away, check out our program the "Green for Life Program". About 4 times a year we lead a live "green cleanse" where you can go completely raw, "detox" your body and get my support and motivation. Check it out here.

“Who Else Wants to Overcome Cravings, Deficiencies, Dental Problems and Achieve Their Ideal Weight?”

Watch in awe as the Green for Life helps you shed pounds, overcome deficiencies, reverse signs of aging and make you feel just awesome!   Click here to find out more.

The sun is just peaking through the clouds. Ed and I feel pretty great having just completed a 10-day fruit & greens cleanse. It was free. Sign up here for a similar mini-cleanse ....

Cleansing with a delicious natural fruit diet is wonderful for releasing toxins. Ed had a rash on his forehead for months that magically cleared up after less than four days of eating fruit and greens. We slept well. Our emotional life seemed very balanced and we have now a general feeling of wellbeing that we haven't experienced for quite some time.

Exercise is also very good for detoxing.

A couple that I find particularly helpful are:

Rebounding: Some folks seem to think that jumping is just silliness... well, actually, "silly" is the "new aerobics". Excuse me, please, while I go give my lymphatic system a great work-out.

Detox Breathing: If you are in the mood to tone up, release some weight, sleep better, and expell toxins without having to leave your livingroom, then you will love these DVDs by an unbelievably gorgeous grandmother.

And of course, anything else that you can think of that keeps you active and your stale air being expelled while you take in fresh supplies.

I'd also like to invite you to be part of my tea club... a way to continue the great effects of the cleanse, while sharing with others. I have been receiving just amazing and funny stories from my friend who introduced me to the tea... he works as a massage therapist and does some quazi-medical stuff (he's trained as an RN), so is running about changing IVs in nursing homes as well as massaging in a medical clinic. He describes this tea as being more effective than mag-citrate, considered "dynamite for the colon." I'll have more stories here as time goes on. Come along and join me in this adventure! (I'm not impressed by the toupee/rug in the picture but 1000s of people are overlooking that marketing gaff so I am too-- hope you do as well! lol I guess it's "genuine" unlike a lot of the current hype.)

It is Sabbath and I am going to make this brief. Today was uneventful except that I planted my iris seeds out front last night in little toilet paper rolls (one seed per roll) and this morning I watered them, and then a bit wind came up and blew them all over... that was pretty frustrating and messy and a waste of all those seeds and briefly-held dreams of iris beauty... but minor stuff, really, right? I didn't do my volunteering today.  The young mom at the home was doing alright and had a number of things to busy herself with so we wished each other Happy Mother's Day over the phone and I got onto other things I needed to do. I made a very good salad at lunch time today... well, the salad was pretty nondescript (just 1/2 red pepper, chopped; 1 head of romaine, chopped; 1 cucumber, chopped) but the dressing was superb and I invented it (heheh): so here is the recipe for that: *1/2 red pepper, seeded *3 ribs of celery *Flesh of 1 Ripe Mango *Juice of 1 Lemon  Looks pretty plain no doubt, but when you have been just eating fruits and greens, it tastes better than any condiment ever could.  Actually, it was very tasty and we decided that I would take a salad with this dressing on it to the Potluck tomorrow. God bless!

I had some lucid dreams again last night, but not disturbing ones, and I actually don't remember them right now. Both Ed and I woke up with no real hunger pangs, although I went to bed last night feeling kind of hungry and grumbly.  I had a banana later into the evening and that helped somewhat.  This morning I observed that I just felt fine-- not hungry, not spacy.. actually breathing well and feeling happy about the sun shining in through the window.  We had a lovely early morning walk with Zoe. Last night I downloaded the Salad Dressings that Fred was promoting and I can hardly wait to be through the cleanse (fruit fruit fruit) and be able to add some of these salad dressings, because they look superb: there are 70 of them and they are created for people who want to eat "raw vegan" although there are a couple with honey (yay) and some include condiments such as Celtic Sea Salt, namu soyu and apple cider vinegar.  There was even one with mayo, but we won't go there lol.  I have made a new banner to advertise these luscious, quick, 2-minute salad dressings (see the border) and I'll report more after the Cleanse on how I actually like them... maybe with pictures. Lots to do today.  I had Toastmasters last night and was the Toastmaster.  Next week I am the General Evaluator, which is always rather anxiety-producing for me... not my forte... but I am improving at it as time goes on.  I need to prepare a drama piece for May 21st.  I have a bit of a goal to do one piece in June and (that will make 6) and then four over October, November, December (since we will be gone on holiday for September and part of October) and thus will have done the 10 required for the  Advanced Communicator Bronze level.  (Sorry-- more brain-dump). On with the day!  I need to go out and complete spading my lily bed so I can plant some iris seeds that have been soaking for more than the prescribed 24 hours!

Last night I had a troubling dream, old content from my life that I thought I had dealt with but it appears that some of the yicky feelings must have been "stuffed" and are just now beginning to re-surface with this cleanse. Makes sense to me. A walk in the sunny morning, a prayer, some careful synthesis-- the dream feelings have fled. We had a succulent orange-spinach-parsley smoothie for breakfast and I ate 2 bananas for lunch. Ed said he is extremely thirsty and he drank MORE smoothie (made another one). He went on a long, enjoyable bike ride yesterday and was likely a little dehydrated after that. I have some tasks in town today and then we will return and do some planting before I have to go off and be Toastmaster tonight. I would really like to see some headway made with the gardening today, but that is unlikely. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digestive Problems? Join the Club! Be sure to go to my website and read about it. Dr. Miller's Holy Tea Club also has the most efficient path to a stay-at-home, self-employment income I have ever seen. It's unique!

Not quite as dramatic as that might seem... just have a few crinks in the joints this morning on the walk, both Ed and I... must be detoxing from there? Ed noticed that a sort of rash he had on his forehead had cleared up... we surmise that it was likely the result of the cheese he's been feasting on. He is from German stock-- he loves cheese. Last night he dreamt that he was gorging on wheels and wheels of Camembert, Swiss, Cheddar, etc. He was enjoying himself so it doesn't sound like a regretful/sorrowful/good-bye type of dream, does it? The problem is -- in real life-- that we both have big reactions to anything dairy-derived, particularly cheese. I noticed last night that he didn't snore-- now THAT is a reason to do this 10-day cleanse in itself.

RECIPE: This morning we are having a simple cleanse smoothie-- 6 very ripe organic oranges, peeled (there are no seeds), 1 organic lemon, seeded, and a huge amount of organic kale (about a head) in maybe a litre of water. It is very refreshing and substantial feeling. Stick all of this in the Vita-Mix (thank God for my Vita-Mix-- really, what would we do without it?), the Kale on the bottom, place on the double lid securely, and start on the low Variable rate, increasing gradually to the highest Variable rate, and then flip over into High for a few minutes. Really? Ambrosia.

I've taken a small watermelon out of the back room for a pre-lunch snack... we can each have a 1/2-- it's about the size of a large honeydew melon. We will likely have something like a couple of bananas for the actual lunch (a mono meal). Last night for supper we had a spinach, orange, tomato, celery salad-- no dressing-- it was surprisingly refreshing and tasty. I observe that the kitchen is staying much tidier and cleaner-- the kitchen stove hasn't been used in a couple of days (no, we are not even drinking tea) and this morning I Spring-cleaned up the area where we keep the toaster, and shined up the toaster itself. After we eat there is no heavy feeling of having over-indulged that happens with our usual starchier vegan meals (i.e., pasta, rice, potatoes, quinoa) and my mind seems much clearer, the mental fog appears to have burnt off. Ed took a friend (without a car) to pick up some groceries yesterday. He saw what she bought-- brownies, etc.-- and was slightly pulled back by taste memory, but overall he felt quite virtuous for standing his ground. It's a beautiful sunny day today. We plan to work in the yard sometime this afternoon-- Ed will mow the lawn and I will pull some weeds and maybe plant the chickpeas, quinoa and millet and cilantro. We'll see if that happens. I have a Toastmasters executive meeting tonight. (Sorry to make this into my personal daily diary...hehe) If you want to read more about cleansing and detoxing, check out The 21 Best Detox Programs. Having marital challenges? Find out God's Plan For Your Marriage Click Here!

I've been shivering all day, off and on. Partly because it is cool in the house, but also because I'm missing my usual jolt of calories from bread and butter and all the fattening things I've been grazing on over the winter. Fred points out that the Cleanse is meant to be 'cleaner' than our usual way of eating, easier on the body, more energizing and all. We are to aim to eat fewer calories than we ordinarily would, too... not to starve (as in a fast-- or that is how it can feel), but not so that we are "full". Tonight's supper will be a mono-meal of a couple of oranges or some such juicy fruit like that (maybe a couple of mango). Ed is just coming home with the groceries he went to town to pick up (see yesterday's grocery list). Looks like a tremendous amount of food, but I'm feeling a little hungry right now and think that I could actually do damage to whatever starches are left in my cupboard if I lacked the resolve I have summoned up for the occasion. So, while it is not technically a FAST (because it is food), it is not exactly eating very much.... I have a bit of a spacy feeling and a bit of a head-ache, but nothing too bad. If you want to read more about cleansing and detoxing, check out The 21 Best Detox Programs. Having marital challenges? Find out God's Plan For Your Marriage Click Here!

I just came back from a trip back East to the prairies to visit my Dad. On the way we drove through snow storms and heard on the radio about a natural gas explosion in the main street of the town where my Dad lives-- a block and half from him. Sadly, two men were killed. My Dad was okay, praise God! We had a good visit and were heartened by his wellbeing and strength and positivity. On the way home I came down with a cold or allergy or detox or what-have-you (felt lousy). It's been a long winter and I've eaten to comfort myself. I'm fat again, tired, lethargic. I'm ready to reverse that so here I go with Fred's Spring Cleanse. This is a 10-day Cleanse that begins with a 24-hour fast-- well, not REALLY a fast, just a break from eating from supper tonight until supper tomorrow night. Here is the Salad that we had for supper: We managed to clean out the cupboards of things that would tempt me during the upcoming Cleanse (olive-pecan bread, eggs, feta cheese,blueberry fig cookies). Olives and avocado are not on our grocery list, but for tonight's supper, they're in. CLEAN-OUT-THE-FRIDGE FRUIT SALAD

*1 head of romaine, broken into bite size pieces *1/2 can black olives, cut up, pitted *1 pkg. cherry tomatoes, cut in half *1 avocado, cut into small pieces *4 oranges, peeled, seeded, cut into thin slices/rounds Dressing: *Juice of 2 oranges *1/4 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt *4 drops pure Oregano Essential Oil *tiny splash of Balsalmic Vinegar Pour the dressing over the salad items and toss thoroughly. Here is the grocery list for the next 10 days (X2 because my husband is also doing it): Mango: 6 to 10 pounds (if available) Apples: 4-5 pounds Pears: 3-4 pounds Oranges: 1 case or several pounds Kiwi: 3-4 pounds Pineapples: 2-4 Bananas: one case Papaya: If available: 4-5 Melons: If you can find good ones: 3-4 Cherries: 2-3 pounds Lemons or Limes: 2-3 pounds Coconuts (for water): optional Romaine Lettuce: 4-6 heads Carrot: 1 bag (large) Celery: 4 heads Kale and other greens: 3-4 heads Parsley: 1 head Cucumber: 2-3 pounds Tomato: 2-3 pounds Spinach: 1-2 heads So, you are very welcome to join us on this Cleanse! If you are doing so, starting with the 24-hour rest, remember not to do too much. Journal, blog, rest during the time that you are not eating. Don't drink massive amounts of water (contrary to everything you have heard lately, just drink to quench your thirst, and take sips, not great gargling gulps). For most of us, we can also expect to lose about 5-7 lbs. during these ten days. I'm thinking that I might like to extend this and do a series of 10-day stints until I lose the amount of weight I need to lose to regain my energy and health. We'll see how it goes. You might experience some headaches and other unpleasant symptoms as you detox, particularly if you are a meat-eater, milk-drinker, alcohol-drinker, smoker, and/or coffee-drinker. If YOU are a coffee-drinker, Fred recommends that you don't abruptly stop drinking coffee, but go here for instructions on how to wean off. These symptoms will lessen as the days go on and you can expect the following to kick in:

1. Weight loss and fat loss, often around 5 to 7 pounds in these 10 days.
2. Energy increase
3. Overcoming cravings and addictions to food
4. More energy and desire to exercise
5. New outlook on life, positivity
6. Symptoms of chronic diseases start to fade away
7. Renewed happiness
8. Sinuses cleared
9. Vision improvement
10. Sexual energy renewal and increase
11. Improved blood sugar metabolism
12. Improved complexion
13. Improved sleep
14. And more!

Sounds good to me... if you want to come along, just bookmark this site. If you want to read more about cleansing and detoxing, check out The 21 Best Detox Programs. Having marital challenges? Find out God's Plan For Your Marriage Click Here!